Steve and Natasha
by keepcalmandwrite
Summary: Basically a story about Steve and Natasha and their relationship, includes all avengers. "Steve found himself wandering into the kitchen, as if he unconsciously had known Natasha was in there and had been pulled in, like gravity holding someone to earth." (Sorry for bad title) Rated M but no smut and not too much violence. Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, although i want to
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Hello peoples, I really hope you enjoy this, but if not enough people review or like it I'm not going to carry on so let me know. If you do review please tell me some prompts if you want a certain plot line to happen because I have no ideas. Enjoy! **

"Bitch!" the stocky man shouted as he slapped Natasha hard across the face. She was currently sitting in an old wooden chair, two strong men holding her down by the shoulders; they were in an underground man-built cave system that was primarily used for interrogations and torture, so of course Natasha ended up down there. However Natasha was an ex-Russian spy, she was deadly, beautiful, and at the moment pissed off. Too many men in her life had hurt and abused her, the reason she hadn't yet dislocated the two guards arms was because of course she needed the information the stocky man had. So she decided to wait until he let it slip, which he would.

"So I can't help but wonder what mistake the infamous Black Widow made that would result in her down here with us and no means of escape" the stocky man, who was in fact a murderer, who also happened to be very rich and had lots of influence over politicians in Cuba said leaning down so his nose was almost touching Natasha's. Her mission had been to find out if Carlos Mandin –a well-known politician- had been murdered by her stocky friend. She knew the only way he would tell her, the same as any criminal, is if they thought they had the upper hand, and seeing as the three well-built men all had guns and she was just an innocent small women who had no weapon and was all alone, she had definitely given them it…well they thought she had.

"Can you just get on with it because I know you're just a guy who talks big, ha! I bet you've never even murdered anyone, and if you have no-one important just some random person at the wrong place wrong time" Natasha snapped back at him, he didn't move his face back, instead he burst out laughing, making his yellow teeth shine in the dull light. She could smell his breathe as he exhaled in her face; it was disgusting, warm and smelled of garlic mixed with Indian food.

"Oh sweetheart, how wrong you are. No, no, no I've killed many high profile people, many you know, and of course my most recent being Carlos Mandin, I'm sure you've heard of him" Idiot Natasha thought as she watched him pick up his knife. Now she just had to kill all three men and she could be back before dinner. The stocky man (she still couldn't remember his name) stepped back in front of her again, he raised his knife and made a cut across Natasha's cheek, her adrenaline was running so she didn't feel it, but she did feel it when he raised his fist and punched her in the same place he had just cut. Right, Natasha thought, time to move. Just as she was about to flip and twist her way out, a large figure burst through the door dressed in a star spangled outfit.

It was of course Steve Rogers, the one and only Captain America, it was strange Natasha had never seen him so tense or angry, his whole form was rigid and bent in a sort of hunting pounce. He threw his shield straight into stocky man's face and sent him flying to the ground.

Natasha took this moment to arc her way out of the men's grip and land so she was standing directly behind them, just as they turned around she performed a perfect round house kick to the first man's kidneys, before she could react the second man slammed into her sending her straight on the floor, he tried to pull his gun out from it's holster to well, presumably shoot her, but he didn't have time before Natasha snaked her legs around his neck and twist them sharply. As she pushed the man's dead body off her she took a second to glance over at Steve and see how he was doing.

Steve didn't remember the last time he had felt so panicked, his stomach churned uncomfortably as he ran the length of the yellow stone corridors, desperately checking doors while also trying and failing to be quiet. He knew he had to remain calm and assess the situation. Natasha was a trained professional, she knew how to handle herself and did this every month or so, it was her job to get into dangerous situations, all the other avengers accepted it. That being said they didn't like seeing their youngest member dealing with men twice her size, but they handled it. Usually Steve would disappear into the gym or some sort of training and lose his feelings amongst his fists, but after finding out that Natasha had gone to fight with a well-known rapist he couldn't contain his nervous energy and it exploded in a hot white ball of rage as he suited up and ran to find a pilot.

Steve didn't like Natasha in _that _way, no, no of course he didn't. All it was, was that his heart and stomach fluttered whenever she entered a room and when she accidently brushed against him he just wanted to hold her close, not to mention whenever she was in the line of danger he just wanted to shield her from whatever it was. Ok so maybe he had strong feelings for Natasha but he honestly wasn't sure whether they meant anything, so until he figured it out, he would ignore them. You know, if he could.

He ran up to a heavy looking door it was encased in crumbly rock and he peered through the tinged window, he saw Natasha being held to a chair by two beefy men and another standing in front of her, he was about to see if he could sneak in when he heard a sharp gasp, a woman's voice. His head snapped up and he saw Natasha with a new cut on her cheek and watched as the man hit her again. The rage shot straight from his stomach and up his throat, until he honestly felt like he was choking on it, he couldn't wait anymore and he burst through the door, his shield at the ready and fists clenched.

It had been an easy fight with both of them there Natasha realised as Steve knelt down next to her because she hadn't bothered to get up yet. His eyes were filled with an emotion Natasha couldn't place. Fear? Anger?

"Natasha," his voice was soft though, he gripped her hand and she suddenly wondered if someone was hurt. Clint? Tony? Bruce? Thor? "Did he hurt you?" she hadn't expected that question, and Steve obviously took the surprise on her face the wrong way. "That bastard! How dare he do that to you? He's lucky he's dead because if he wasn't I would bring all the avengers back here and kill him a couple more times" Natasha shook her head and chuckled softly.

"No Steve he didn't hurt me don't worry" suddenly rage pulled at her emotions and took control of her mouth and mind "In fact what the fuck are you doing here? I had that completely under control and I didn't need your help!" Steve stood up again and shook his head angrily turning away from her, his adrenaline was still pumping and it was effecting his emotions.

"Actually Natasha it did look like you needed my help" he shouted back, Natasha pulled herself up and squared up to him, their eyes met but neither said anything and it was intense. The tension between them palpable. "We need to leave before they send more people" Steve ordered heading towards the door his shoulders tense, he turned back and saw Natasha struggling to keep herself up, she was trying to hide it.

"What?" she snapped but her voice wasn't sharp from anger, but from pain, she noticed his look and shook her head. "I just twisted my ankle that's all" he nodded and all emotions from their argument disappeared and the gentleman that was Steve came back, he strode over and scooped her into his arms and let her rest against his chest.

"Let's go" he said his voice calm and soft again, Natasha found it comforting and let the words rest around her, if Steve hadn't of been listening to every noise Natasha made to check she was ok, he wouldn't of heard it. The words were a whisper but sentiment encased behind all of them,

"Thank you Steve" he smiled as he carried Natasha out of the caves, as the stars came into full view again he silently thanked god that he was carrying one.

**I hope you like it and please please review; it means so much and let me know if I should continue because I might not. **

**-Keepcalmandwrite **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N So I'm back and firstly I wanna say a big thank you to everyone who reviewed/followed/favourite or whatever it means a lot. WARNING: This chapter had mentions of past rape but no details. **

**I've decided it's going to be a story but at the same time kind of one-shots so let me know which you'd rather and any ideas you have. If I get let's say…5 reviews I'll be happy pleeeease and thank you xx **

"Hey Steve!" Natasha shouted as she darted down the empty Shield hallway, it had been a couple of hours since Steve's little 'rescue and retrieve' mission and Natasha felt guilty. She knew she shouldn't have shouted at him like that, she had made him feel small and insignificant and she knew it. She honestly hadn't said those things to upset him; it was just a defence mechanism and most of the time it worked, because apart from the avengers Natasha wasn't close to anyone therefore didn't care if she upset them. Occasionally though she would snap at someone important to her, and she knew she had to make things right as much as she didn't want to. "Wait up!"

The super soldier glanced behind him and noticed the red headed spy hot on his trail, he slowed down and tried to smile but it didn't reach his eyes. He wanted to know why she had treated him the way she did, that wasn't how you were meant to talk to your friends, so Steve wondered did Natasha actually like him and consider him a friend?

"I err wanted to have a quick word with you…if you don't mind" she said softly but she wouldn't look him in the eye. He studied her small frame and noticed the way her head only reached his shoulder, and the way her hair seemed to tinge a gentle brown in the bright lights, he didn't mean to stare but he couldn't tear his eyes away. She glanced up at him confusion painted on her face, he momentarily wondered why before he remembered that he still hadn't answered her.

"Sure, sure that's fine, go ahead" he replied hurriedly, Natasha gave a small sharp nod making her hair bounce and glimmer. She continued to look up at the Captain and noticed the calming blue his eyes were, they reminded her of those days when the sea became slow and sleepy again just after a storm, it was relaxing. His broad, muscled frame towered over her but it wasn't uncomfortable it gave her the vague sense of safety before she pushed it away.

"Look I just wanted to say" she took a deep breath, she hated apologising, best just get it done with though "I'm sorry I shouted at you it was the wrong thing to do and I appreciate the fact that you came to save me, but Steve, the bottom line is that I didn't need saving, I don't need someone holding my hand" he stared at her obviously not expecting that. Natasha silently cursed the way that she managed to turn an apology into the start of another argument. Steve laughed suddenly; it was a deep throaty laugh that made Natasha clench her fists.

"So you're not really sorry for what you said?" he clarified biting back another chuckle. Natasha gave him a cold hard stare that in all honesty made him want to run away.

"I never said I was sorry for what I said, I just apologised for shouting at you, and I still stand by what I said earlier" she corrected him a hint of indignation to her tone. Steve looked away for a moment and took a deep breath, and he had stood here and thought that she had genuinely come here to make things right.

"Just tell me why Natasha, why won't you accept help?" Steve questioned grabbing her wrist firmly before she could turn away. He knew he had asked the wrong question when her face darkened and well…she slapped him.

"Fuck off Rogers" her voice was icy "That is none of your business, let me go!" She was sure Steve had hardly even felt the slap as he didn't let go of her, she desperately tried to pull away, the thought of Steve finding out why she didn't rely on anyone genuinely frightened her.

"Natasha talk to me" Steve said holding her other wrist as well, even thought she had twisted and turned she knew her wrists would never actually hurt; Steve was too much of a gentleman.

"Please" her voice was pleading and almost timid "I can't tell you, I just can't" he let go of her wrists and cupped her chin so she had to look at him; he could tell he was wearing her down.

"I don't know much about this century Natasha, but I do know when a dame needs someone to talk to, and you do. I promise you I won't judge, it'll feel so much better if you get it off your chest" Steve argued his voice was soothing as he pulled Natasha into one of the spare offices so they wouldn't be disturbed.

"Ok if I really am going to tell you all this then you can't interrupt and please don't think any different of me, deal?" Natasha implored, she was sitting on a desk as Steve sat in a chair facing her, she had rested her foot of his knee, craving human contact. He nodded and gestured for her to go on.

"Well when I was a young girl, about 6, my house was burned down with my family still in it, I watched as my parents burned to death in front of my eyes, a man named Ivan pulled me out just as it collapsed. He took me to an organisation called the Red Room, I don't want to go into details about it but I was there until I was 18 when I finally got away. While I was there the people would torture me so I could become a better assassin. Steve" her voice faltered a bit as she looked out the window avoiding his shocked eyes "they hurt me in every way, mentally, physically and sexually" Natasha heard his breath hitch as he reached for her hand.

"Go on Nat, you can tell me" she nodded and looked back at him.

"Everybody I ever trusted hurt me in some way, if I let someone that close to me now, even you, how do I know you won't do the same?" that pushed Steve over the edge and he jumped up knocking the chair to the ground and pulled Natasha into a tight hug.

"I know" Steve began while resting his chin on top of her head as she melted into his body, she couldn't help it, she didn't realise how much she had wanted to feel someone's strong arms encircled around her, in fact no, she hadn't realised how much she wanted Steve's strong arms encircled around her. "I know" he repeated again his voice was deep and kind. "There's no way I can persuade you that I will never hurt you, if you won't at least try and trust me."

Natasha broke away and looked back into his eyes suddenly her whole body tensed and she pulled herself back forcefully knocking a chair over in the process. The sound ricocheted around the small office, it seemed to paint colour on the normally pale grey walls.

"Don't say that" Natasha's voice grew slightly frantic as she backed away from Steve, he crept closer his arms out stretched in a gesture of peace. "Let me tell you a little story, yeah? I knew a man once his name was Borislav Onslo he told me that I could trust him because he would look after me" Steve stood still now as Natasha's back was against a wall, he could practically feel her nervous energy pouring off her in waves. "One night I got back from a mission I was injured and in pain everybody just told me to deal with it or hurt me a little bit more, but no Onslo was different he picked me up all the while whispering soft words, and carried me into his room" Tears were falling down Natasha's cheeks as she continued to speak her voice rising slightly hysterically but Steve didn't interrupt her. "He patched me up at first but then he started kissing me and when I tried to pull away he tied me down and he raped me, I was 13! And that Steve is the last time I trusted anyone. So now you tell me why I should trust you because you are very capable of doing the same thing, we both know it!"

Natasha didn't even feel sorry for the hurt on Steve's face, she made a break for the door her emotions were in full control now and she was seconds away from a breakdown. Before she could get past him though he out stretched his arm and hooked it around her waist, he pulled her close into him and she looked up so their foreheads were touching. In the heat of the moment they both leant in and their lips met, it was a gentle and timid kiss but just as Natasha was about to take it further Steve pulled away slightly. Foreheads still touching Natasha spoke,

"Didn't you want that, didn't you like that?" her cheeks were still wet as Steve lifted a large hand to brush them dry.

"I'm not going to take advantage of you while you're upset, although you might not believe me I would never do that to anyone and least of all to you" he explained as he placed a kiss on her neck, it was small and his lips were gone in a second, as soon as they were Natasha desperately missed their warmth and wanted them back.

"And that is exactly why I think I'm starting to trust you" Natasha muttered back as they broke apart. "We should probably get back to the Tower the guys will be worried" Steve nodded and reached out his hand for her to take. "Oh Steve I don't trust you that much yet" he laughed and nodded.

"Sure but we can work on it" he replied, they both smiled as Steve held the door open for her and they stepped out into the hallway, back into reality, but this time a little closer together.

**Voila **** I hope you enjoyed it and please review it means so much **

**-Keepcalmandwrite **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N YOU GUYS ARE THE ABSOLUTE BEST! I've got a total of 14 reviews! So I thought I'd let you know I'm going to start replying and thanking everyone who reviews because it just makes me smile so much **** Three questions though, please answer! **

**-Do I need a Beta Reader for this story, bearing in mind I'm only 14 and make mistakes; if you are one would you fancy it? **

**-Do you want this fic to be angst or light hearted, I'm better at the dark stuff but I'd try happy, or a mix of both? **

**-I know it's my job as the writer but does anyone have any plot ideas or prompts I'm lacking inspiration…(should this have a question mark at the end of it, because it doesn't sound like a question?) ;) **

**Sorry for the long Authors notes but I'd appreciate it if you read it but it's fine if you don't…and finally ENJOY! On with the story… **

"Finally Little Red you're back!" Tony greeted in his usual narcissistic tone as Natasha entered the top floor of Avengers Tower, "I was wondering if I'd have to go out there and save your pretty little ass" Natasha scowled at him, but the corners of her mouth lifted slightly as she turned around to hang Steve's jacket up, it was cold and he insisted she wear it on the way back from Shield.

"Good to see you to Stark, oh and heads up Pepper is extremely mad at you for forgetting Valentine's Day" Natasha warned as she limped past his now tense form and into the kitchen.

"Oh shit! I forgot about that, I'll ring up that little Italian Restaurant she loves" he nodded at Steve as he walked in, Tony was too busy planning his 'I'm sorry meal' to annoy Steve. "Looks like we'll be out the tower tonight then" he shouted as he exited the kitchen, winking at Steve and nodding his head in Natasha's direction, "Enjoy" he grinned just as Natasha picked up a carving knife and twirled it delicately in her fingers.

"Just ignore him Nat" Steve suggested as he tried to conceal his smirk. He watched quietly as Natasha jumped down from her seat and began making a bowl of pasta, her movements –despite her sore ankle- were fluid and graceful, he was mesmerized by the charming way her hips swayed back and forth, he shook his head. Snap out of it Rogers, he thought angrily to himself, he looked back to Natasha who was staring at him.

"Well?" she asked slightly impatiently.

"Umm, pardon?" he replied feeling the slight hue of red blossom on his cheeks as the stunning assassin stared him down. Natasha shook her head softly and repeated her earlier question,

"Do you want any pasta?"

"Oh no thank you, I've already eaten but you definitely need to" he answered his voice adopting a kind but assertive tone, the tone of a true leader.

"Ha, I plan to! I'm absolutely starving" Natasha said as she twirled around the kitchen, occasionally reaching up to open cabinets, when she did Steve would always politely look away as she revealed her back, constantly trying to fight the urge to stare.

"Hey guys!" came a new voice from the doorway, several sets of footsteps were heard before Clint Barton and Bruce Banner stepped in.

"Hi" Natasha and Steve both echoed each other, as they shared a small smile at one another.

"How'd your mission go Tasha?" Clint asked as he reached around to help her make the food. Steve couldn't help the pang of jealousy that shot through his chest when Natasha's hand brushed Clint's and vice versa.

"It was ok" she shot back rather curtly, unconsciously running a finger along her new cut and matching bruise that decorated her face, but, strangely did not take away from her appearance.

"Let me see that" Bruce interrupted before Clint could talk, he took Natasha's hand and pulled her into a seat next to Steve, who had of course already checked to make sure she was ok.

"It's fine don't worry about it, I've had much worse" she smiled softly at Bruce and Clint's concerned faces.

"Oh I believe you" Bruce grinned as he let go of her chin. "Anyway we just came to let you guys know that Thor is back in Asgard, Tony's out with Pepper tonight and me and Clint are out as well so you guys are going to be alone tonight. Is that ok?" he asked politely, not noticing the slight sexual tension between the soldier and spy.

"That's fine, have fun with whatever you're doing" Steve said as he headed back to his room, "We'll have a fun night won't we Nat?" he asked, if Clint and Bruce didn't know better they would say there was a hint of teasing in Steve's voice.

"Definitely" Natasha confirmed as she hoped off the stool and grabbed her bowl of pasta Clint had continued to make, she winked up at Steve as she sauntered past, he watched her walk away and was once again mesmerized by her swaying hips. He was sure she was laughing.

By the time the Avengers (minus Natasha and Steve) had left it was dark outside and the stars were shining down, it reminded Natasha of Steve carrying her out of the dangerous caves and the sudden realisation that she was safe and the relief that followed. Of course, she would never admit this to anyone, ever. She was sitting on the couch in the shared common room flicking through the movie choices Jarvis had on file.

"Hey Nat what are you doing?" Steve questioned as he walked in, Natasha couldn't help but stare at his muscles that strained against his tight t-shirt.

"Umm just trying to choose a movie, wanna watch one with me?" she offered but received his answer as soon as he sat down next to her and grinned, still keeping a respectful distance. Natasha soon settled on 'The Notebook' Steve gave her a surprised smile.

"I didn't have you down as one for romance" he teased as she playfully hit him.

"Hey I love this film" she muttered softly as she leaned against his shoulder. He momentarily tensed before relaxing completely and hesitantly placing an arm around her waist, hardly touching her. Natasha laughed as she pulled it closer and snuggled into him.

By the end of the film Natasha had tears streaming down her face, after revealing her past to Steve earlier she had been slightly emotionally, ok very emotional and it was not like her. It was strange though because she felt better, as if a small weight had been stolen from her shoulders and just floated away.

"Did you like it?" she asked Steve turning so she could face him, he wasn't crying but still seemed sad.

"I didn't think it would end like that" he looked down at her. Her head was resting in his lap, he had his large arm secured around her small waist and both felt comfortable. Natasha's red hair was resting around her red like a bleeding halo, it was truly bewitching. "You're so beautiful" he whispered hardly realising the words had left his mouth. He did notice however when Natasha pulled herself up and leant up, so her mouth was resting next to his ear, she whispered,

"Thank you Steve. You really do make me trust you" the words tickled his ear and seemed to make his heart beat harder. She stood up and Steve immediately missed her soft scent of vanilla, "Goodnight" she said, her voice was soft as she locked her piercing green eyes, with his gentle blue ones.

"Goodnight Nat" she turned to slip away, so before he could change his mind he blurted out, "Do you think we could do this again sometime?" Natasha turned back around and her eyes twinkled.

"I was wondering when you'd ask, I'd love to" neither said anything else, after a couple of seconds Natasha turned around and left, her hips swaying as Steve stared and she laughed.

**Third chapter down also, I received a review saying Natasha is actually the second oldest but for the purpose of this story let's pretend she's not **** thank you for taking the time to review though. So please do! Sorry for any mistakes I didn't have time to check it thoroughly! **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N This one seems shorter than the others so sorry about that, I kinda hit writers block so it just sets up their relationship some more, I reckon the next chapter is going to be dark, maybe. Please review if you have any questions, plot ideas or just anything you wanna say! **

Steve was walking aimlessly around Avengers Tower, he was bored. He had already worked out all morning, Clint was in Shield, Tony and Bruce were in the labs, Thor was still in Asgard and well, he didn't know where Natasha was. He shuffled down the empty corridors in a defeated manner, he thought about the question, if he could do anything what would he do and who with. He wasn't surprised when his thoughts latched onto Natasha, he would of course want to spend the afternoon with her, and honestly he didn't care what they were doing as long as it was her. Despite this he still hadn't fully admitted to himself that he 'liked' Natasha like 'that'.

He found himself wandering into the kitchen, as if he unconsciously had known she was in there and had been pulled in, like gravity holding someone to earth.

"Morning Steve" Natasha greeted as he walked by her and sat down, she stopped moving for a moment and stared into space,

"Umm Nat are you alright?" he asked uncertainly. She smiled and began moving again,

"I'm trying to decide what to do this afternoon, I never usually get up this late but I was really tired" she looked guilty, as if she had confessed to doing something she wasn't allowed.

"You're allowed to sleep in" he confirmed when she looked at him with slightly questioning eyes, "you're not there anymore, and besides Tony only got up half an hour before you anyway" he reassured her, she grinned and began making coffee.

"So what are you up to today?" she asked pleasantly, she placed herself down opposite him and absentmindedly played with his fingers as she sipped her coffee.

"Actually nothing and I'm really bored" he replied, she smiled brightly and it made him want to grin too.

"Great we can do something together, be ready in 20" she ordered as she placed her cup in the sink and danced away. He jumped up, a new energy pumping in his veins, a whole afternoon with Natasha, the day already seemed brighter.

Natasha and Steve were strolling through Central Park, they were casually chatting about common things, she was trying to teach him the concept of iPhones, when she stopped talking and squealed in a very girly way. Steve stared at her, his mouth open and eyes wide, he had just heard Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow squeal.

"Look!" she was pointing in the direction of what looked like a children's playground, Steve was sure she didn't mean that though.

"What am I looking at?" he asked suspiciously as she practically jumped up and down.

"The playground!" she looked up at him as if shocked that he didn't understand her excitement. "The swings are free" she declared as if her point was not clear enough, and she was talking to a very slow, dumb person.

"Wait, you wanna go on them?" he asked perplexed. She bobbed her head up and down and snatched his hand, she towed him towards them, he willingly went although he didn't understand what was so special, once they were sat down Natasha noticed his confused expression.

"I never had a chance to do this when I was a kid, I've never done it" she said, looking at the floor as a slight blush coated her cheeks; Steve laughed his deep throaty chuckle.

"Well let's swing then" he announced as he began pushing his legs forwards and weight backwards, he had gathered a fair height before he heard Natasha's irritated groan, he glanced across and watched as she valiantly tried to swing, but couldn't.

"I can't do it!" she moaned as he came to a stop beside her, "shut up" she laughed as Steve silently teased her.

"Let me help" Steve offered striding over, he made sure Natasha was holding on and grabbed the seat of the swing, he easily pulled it up and let it go, the swing shot forwards and backwards and Natasha shrieked as it did so. He honestly couldn't remember her sounding so happy, eventually though they stopped and walked away from the playground, Steve missed the sounds of her giggles and squeals.

"What else shall we do?" Natasha asked casually, neither avenger commented on how throughout their walk, Natasha had rested her arm next to Steve's and he had grasped her hand.

"How about we have a race?" Steve suggested, "You know considering we're being kids we might as well go all out" she smiled at his easy going nature.

"Ok" Natasha agreed, "On go, from here to…that tree over there, the really big one" Steve nodded in understanding and they both got into their stances.

"Three" Steve whispered,

"Two" Natasha said slightly louder,

"One" Steve almost shouted,

"Go!" they both yelled together and shot off. Steve's legs were much larger so his strides were longer, but Natasha's legs moved quicker and it was evenly matched until Steve started to pull ahead in the last few feet. On impulsive Natasha leaped up and landed on his back, he laughed but it didn't slow him down in the slightest, Natasha didn't need him to though and she surged over his back and slapped her hand against the tree.

"I win" she declared a smile still plastered on her face, Steve looked very much the same.

"You cheated" Steve accused mockingly,

"No I didn't I used logic and your strength to my advantage" Natasha argued softly as they lay next to each other on their backs in the grass. After a few minutes of silence Steve reached his hand up,

"Look that cloud looks like an elephant" he commented absentmindedly, Natasha agreed,

"And that one looks like a lion" she added.

"Oh yeah"

"Today's been great Steve, I finally got the chance to feel like a child, so thanks for that" Natasha mumbled. Steve turned his head away from the sky; he rolled onto his elbow so he was looking down on her.

"Me too, and it has been my genuine pleasure, but I think we should get back now" he sighed and Natasha nodded, he pulled her to her feet and they headed out the park, still holding hands.

Once they reached the doors of the Tower Steve knelt down and, wordlessly, Natasha climbed onto his back, she wrapped her legs around his waist and he held her knees, she rested her head on his shoulder and he felt her tired body sink into his muscled frame, it felt right. He could feel her little puffs of breath tickle his ear as she drifted in and out of consciousness. He knew the reason she was tired was because of nightmares, hence the lack of sleep, but he couldn't bring himself to drag the subject up as she was finally resting.

The elevator dinged on the shared floor and Steve stepped out, immediately catching Thor, Bruce and Tony's attention, they gave him quizzical looks.

"Is Lady Natasha hurt?" Thor questioned, he seemed ready to summon Mjölnir, but Bruce put a placating hand on his arm,

"No, no she's just tired" Steve reassured him.

"Wow Capsicle, you tired her out that much, nice!" Tony said as he walked past raising his hand for a high five, Steve ignored him…as usual.

Once he had placed Natasha into her bed and pulled her covers around her, taking off her shoes but leaving on her jeans and top, Steve had time to think. He hadn't realised it earlier but as he sat there and thought, his mind travelled back to 'The Battle of Manhattan', to Loki's interrogation by Natasha, she had told Loki that 'love is for children' and today Steve and her had purposely acted like children, raising the question in Steve's mind.

Did Natasha see him more than a friend?

**As usual this is the part where I beg for reviews ;) **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N So as usual I want to thank all my reviewers you guys are the best and I think I pm'd you all, if I didn't let me know…I think I did. **

**So I got a message basically saying because of chapter 2 and the references to Natasha's past abuse the rating should be an M, so I've changed it to that and I wanted to say I'm sorry if it offended anyone that it wasn't this in the beginning, but anyway it's changed now, and thank you to that person for letting me know. **

**This chapter has got some 'suggestive' themes but I had fun writing it so I hope it makes you smile ;) **

**IMPORTANT: I need to know do you want Steve and Natasha to get together soon or not? **

It had started out innocently enough. Steve had been walking down a corridor, somewhere in the middle of the maze that was Shields base, he had tripped and unfortunately Natasha had been coming around the corner at the exact same moment…and before they knew it they were both on the floor, Steve crushing Natasha.

"Nat! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to" Steve rambled as he jumped up and pulled Natasha with him, giving her a quick look over checking she was ok, he was fully aware of just how heavy he was.

"It's fine it was an accident" Natasha laughed wincing slightly as she moved her, soon to be bruised, arm. He took it carefully, so gently that Natasha hardly felt any pressure at all, he brushed his fingers up and down and studied it carefully, Steve looked up when he heard Natasha's breath hitch. She was staring up at him, her bright green eyes were almost…begging, but begging for what? Steve wondered.

Maybe it was when Natasha sharply pulled her arm away, did Steve finally realise what had happened, almost immediately his face turned red, which in turn made Natasha look away awkwardly. It was silent for several seconds, uncomfortable silence before Natasha broke it,

"So I'm gonna go now…" she said glancing back up at Steve, he nodded,

"Yeah, yeah so I'll see you…err soon" he replied. Natasha walked past him but stopped just behind him, she twisted around and whispered in his ear,

"Watch where you're walking, I wouldn't want you falling into any other women" her voice was a seductive purr, and Steve's whole body reacted to it, she traced the tips of her fingers down his forearm leaving goose bumps in it's wake. She sauntered off; Steve was left standing in an empty corridor mouth agape.

Oh the game was on and he intended to win…

Later that day the Avengers were devising battle strategies in one of the many Shield conference rooms. Clint was sitting in one of the chairs with his feet kicked up on the shiny wooden table. Bruce was drawing the plan out on the whiteboard, Tony was twirling around in one of the spinning chairs, and Thor was eating a box of pop-tarts. Steve walked in, a devious smile on his face, he scanned the room and saw Natasha's petite form perched on the table edge her legs dangling off, behind her were a stack of sheets. Perfect, Steve thought.

He walked over to her and stood directly in front of her, she looked at him with her eyebrows raised. He stretched his large arms around her, and 'reached' for the papers, he placed his mouth next to her neck and breathed out, he felt her shake slightly under him. It made him smile wider, when he pulled back, he stroked his hands along her thighs dragging them slowly. Neither Natasha nor Steve realised it but they had caught everyone's attention.

"Well played Rogers" Natasha praised, her voice rose slightly, "I didn't think you had it in you" he laughed again and stared into her eyes but she refused to be side tracked, "unfortunately it wasn't good enough, so just wait…I always win" she jumped up and walked straight past him not teasing him in the slightest, he stared after her until Clint burst out laughing.

"You are so fucked Cap"

Natasha watched from the doorway of the gym as Thor and Steve sparred, Tony was on the treadmill and Clint was hitting a punching bag, none of them noticed when Natasha walked in.

"Thor" she yelled immediately catching the demi-gods attention "Do you mind if I take a turn?" she smiled sweetly at him and winked at Steve, this definitely caught Tony and Clint's attention. Steve backed away,

"You know what I'm gonna be late, so…" he began edging his way out of the gym. Tony laughed and Natasha stepped forward, but it wasn't intimidating, it was inviting.

"You're not scared are you?" she purred and grabbed his hand as he tried to walk past. "Don't worry I don't bite" she leaned up to whisper in his ear "Unless you want me too" he stared at her and let her lead him back to the mats. She signalled to the other guys who all began packing up their stuff, Steve looked around in panic,

"Where are you all going?" he asked frantically,

"This is going to be embarrassing enough without us watching" Clint explained as they passed by.

Once they were gone Natasha and Steve both prepared their fighting stances, Steve couldn't help but notice Natasha's zipper was pulled a little lower, he had to be strong he reminded himself and shook his head. He sent the first punch, gently at first, he wasn't entirely comfortable with trying to attack a woman, but of course Natasha insisted. She easily dodged and hooked her leg on top of his arm, she yanked down and pulled him so he was facing the floor, he tried to grab her foot but she used this as a lift and pulled herself onto his back. She savagely knocked him down; it barely succeeded because of his super strength. Steve was now lying on the floor, hands pinned behind his back a throbbing feeling spreading through his arm, and his face was planted firmly into the mats.

"So" Natasha began conversationally while she rolled him over, he didn't bother fighting back, she would just catch him again. "You should know about what I do, right? I mean you know lots of the missions I go on I seduce men to get what I want out of them, so Steve you should have realised in a game of teasing, I will always win" Natasha straddled Steve's waist, she moved her body down the length of his, slowly, painfully slowly. She wriggled her body teasingly over his groin; he trembled underneath her, completely at her mercy. "Say it" she commanded.

"No" Steve gasped out, biting his bottom lip, Natasha chuckled and stroked a hand softly down his face, before using her nails and digging into his flesh, not heavy enough to leave a mark but so he could feel it, he whimpered slightly.

"Just say it Steve and I'll let you go" she hummed happily swinging her hips back and forwards slightly. He shook his head adamantly but he was nearly shaking.

"For the love of god you idiot, just say it!" came a voice from the ceiling, Tony's voice, he knew they had all been watching. Natasha leant over him, still straddling his waist but bringing her lips inches away from his,

"Looks like we have an audience, so it's only fair we give them a show" she placed her delicate hands under his shirt; they were cold and sent ripples throughout his body. She slid her tongue out of her mouth and licked her plump lips, Steve gulped, she leant down and held her lips just above his, she was about to push down when Steve mumbled,

"Ok, ok!" she pulled back and grinned,

"So what do you say?" she prompted a smug satisfaction clear on her face.

"You win" she smiled sweetly.

"That's right I always win" she rose slowly off him and leaped towards the door.

That evening Natasha was sitting on one of the couches in the shared common room chatting about Stark Industries with Pepper. The two women heard the sound of footsteps and glanced up.

Steve strode in…wearing only boxers. Natasha's mouth hit the floor, he watched her with a triumphant smirk on his face, Natasha slowly stood up. She stepped closer to him, he leant down and she leant up, their lips brushed for barely three seconds, it was just another tease but this time it meant something

"Ok Steve" Natasha whispered, they looked deep into each other's eyes, Natasha twisted on her heel and slinked away, she glanced back over her shoulder, smiling, "You win"

**And once again I beg for reviews…pleeeeeeeeease :D **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N Thanks for your reviews they mean so much you guys really are amazing. **

**More provocative Steve woo! This is the last teasing chapter, they'll be getting together fairly soon I think **

**If you want anything in this story let me know, god you girls are gonna love Steve in here especially the end ;) Review please! **

Natasha grabbed a towel from inside her bathroom, she wrapped it around her body and looked in the mirror, she grinned at the image. She wasn't a vain person, she was modest but she knew she had a nice figure and she knew for certain that Steve particularly loved it. Although she had _appreciated_ Steve's little show, dressed only in his boxers last night she hadn't appreciated the fact that he had won. She was competitive, and knew that she could beat him, and she would.

She giggled as she stepped out of her room and slipped along the corridor, she knocked on Steve's bedroom door and waited. She heard crashes coming from inside before the door swung open and a frazzled looking Steve stepped out, he did a double take when he realised her attire. His eyes widened comically and he grabbed a t-shirt slung over his chair and held it over his groin. Natasha chuckled as she watched his face turn a deep shade of red,

"Mornin' do you mind if I use your shower, mines broken?" she made her eyes wide, and pulled on an innocent look which obviously fooled Steve as he tried to cover his crotch more.

"Yeah of course that's fine" he agreed nervously,

"Steve…why are you holding your t-shirt like that?" Natasha asked sweetly, he coughed awkwardly.

"Oh Nat don't be so cruel so early in the morning" Bruce chided as he walked past laughing softly at the realization that spread across Steve's face. Natasha winked at him and stepped past Steve running her hand lightly over his chest and carried on through to the bathroom.

"Hey Steve" Natasha shouted from within the bathroom, she knew he was still out there trying to calm down "I forgot my moisturizer do you think you could grab it for me, it's in my bathroom"

"Sure I'll be one second" Steve ran out his room and straight into Natasha's bathroom, on the way back out he glanced on her bed and saw red lacy underwear lying on her bed, his heart sped up but he shook his head, knowing if he wanted to beat Natasha he had to fight his urges. He entered his room and realised the problem,

"Steve can you just bring it in here please?" he cursed silently and opened the bathroom door, steam poured out and he was momentarily blinded. Natasha was stood in the shower the glass was mostly fogged but he could see her legs, stomach and face, he counted to ten slowly in his head. She pushed the door open and stretched out a shining arm; she grabbed his hand and took the cream.

"Thanks" but Steve couldn't move, his feet were planted on the floor and he couldn't will himself to move. "You know you can get in here with me if you want" Natasha offered no hint of teasing in her tone.

"As nice as that sounds I'm going to have to pass" Steve denied, his lower stomach ached at saying no. "Watch your back Nat, I will win"

"You wish, I'm not the one that got a boner and is still stood in here as I am completely naked" Steve laughed and left the bathroom already planning his revenge. As he made his way into the kitchen Tony stopped him,

"Why is Little Red in your bathroom?" he asked suspiciously,

"Her shower's broken, I was being polite" Steve replied, his mind still racing.

"Oh Steve, Steve, Steve" Tony shook his head pityingly "Her shower isn't broken" Steve drew in a sharp breath,

Oh she was good, but not as good as him.

Steve was working out in the gym, trying to decide how he could tease Natasha, the trick in the shower had really turned him on, so he decided to turn the tables around, he would be the one in the shower. But…not before he had some fun, yesterday Natasha had been the dominant one in training, so today it was his turn.

He watched as Natasha strolled in, her movements were beautiful but slow. She glanced over and saw him staring, she smiled and he ran over.

"Wanna spar?" he asked, acting natural so she didn't suspect anything.

"Sure" Natasha grinned; boy was she about to be surprised. For the second time in two days they both took to the mats and prepared there stances. Steve knew Natasha was difficult to catch so he decided to charge full on, usually he would start slow and build up, but he would never pin her down if he did that. So as soon as they were ready he rugby tackled her straight down, she let out a surprised yelp that was half a laugh as he did so. Of course Steve was still a gentleman; he cupped the back of her head and wrapped his arms around her, he made a protective cage around her body, so when they did hit the floor he took the full blow. Before she could struggle back up Steve pulled both her wrists together and placed them above her head, pinning them there with one of his larger hands. He put his legs on either side of her but only placed a very small amount of weight on her, just enough so she couldn't escape.

"Well, now the tables have turned" Steve teased as he ran his free hand over Natasha's toned stomach; she tightened her muscles under his touch. "Just say it Nat" she shook her head adamantly. Steve shrugged and put his lips to her stomach, he was barely touching her though, he heard Natasha's breathing become ragged.

"Steve" she gasped out, he raised his head again and looked at her expectantly, she seemed to have an internal debate before shaking her head again, there was a twinkle in her eye. He laughed softly and placed his mouth on her neck, he kissed her lightly moving his mouth across to her collarbone, he nibbled her skin lightly.

"Say it" he murmured,

"Fine, yo- you win" she panted slightly and Steve laughed. "Is it bad I kinda don't want you to move" Natasha asked raising her eyebrows elegantly.

"Honestly I'm not sure I want to either" they stared at each other, the tension was high. Suddenly Natasha jerked her body, hitting Steve between the legs, he rolled off her and shuddered, Natasha leapt to her feet, as she walked away she leant down and nibbled Steve's ear.

"Sorry Steve, close but not quite good enough" she waltzed off, it was only then did Steve spot Tony, Clint, Bruce and Thor all staring down at him in pity.

"Nice try Cap" Clint muttered shaking his head; they pulled him up and patted his back.

"Gotta admit I wouldn't have had the guts" Tony admitted trying to stifle his laughter. "Let's get some food"

"Yeah" Steve agreed, but he had one last trick up his sleeve…and it had to work.

Natasha was in the kitchen making a cup of tea, thoughts of Steve were flying through her head. After all their little teases it hit Natasha that she may be falling for the super soldier, but could she trust him? Maybe, it was a chance she would have to take if she wanted anything to happen, or she could of course play it safe and avoid him or run like she used to, but the thought of leaving the guys, all of them made her want to stay. She hadn't realised it until now, but they were a family, a messed up family but a family.

Natasha heard a door slide open and she watched as Steve walked towards her, he was dripping wet, his abs glistening and just a towel tied around his waist. Natasha dropped the spoon she had been holding, it hit the table with a sharp clatter, Steve looked at her amusement spread on his face. Natasha stalked up to him, he cocked an eyebrow at her expression, she was looking up and down his body.

"Nice" she admitted "Very nice" he grinned and so did she. Then before he could react in one fluid movement she had his towel in her hands, his eyes widened for the third time that day, Natasha threw her head back and laughed. "Even nicer" she giggled.

**So I wrote this for you, so I think you should review…..! :D xx**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N Thank you as always to everyone who reviewed, you guys are so great! So this chapter is short but sweet, I'll update as soon as I can maybe today again, they will get together soon. **** Review as always! Cuddles if you do lol! **

Natasha felt the large hand grip her by the throat; he forced her backwards until she was dangerously near the edge of the platform. She tried to step back some more but her foot dangled in mid-air, she knew she was going to fall. It was just a matter of time, but she sure as hell wasn't falling without killing this guy first. She managed to twist her hand a click a button on the inside of her bracelet, it made a small but sharp knife protrude out the tip of her boot, so all she would have to do is raise her foot and stab the enemy. Tony had created them for her after he had seen the dresses she had to wear to missions and realised she had hardly any room to hide weapons…so he fixed it.

Natasha jerked her foot upwards straight into the man's chest, his whole weight immediately fell on top of her and knocked her balance; they both tumbled over the edge and hit the ground with a thud. The difference was of course, the man did not get up again but Natasha did, she picked up her jacket swung it over her arm and limped out, actively trying to ignore the shooting pains in her back and leg.

Steve watched silently as Natasha placed her torn jacket down and leant one hand on the table and used the other to hold her back, wincing as she did so. She had a jagged cut up the side of her right thigh, it had covered her whole leg in blood, but he didn't think she even noticed. Tony and Pepper were watching a film in the living room; both stared at Natasha in genuine shock, it wasn't that she looked worse than they had ever seen her it was more the fact that she had her fists clenched and seemed so in pain. Steve was the first to react,

"Natasha" he jogged over to her, she let go of her back and straightened slightly, putting no weight on her bad leg, "I'm taking you to medical right now, Bruce isn't here" she just shook her head and tried to hobble past him.

"No I've gotta stay away from Shield for a bit, mission didn't go so well, and Shield has to do the clean-up, Fury's pissed" she explained, Steve held out his arm, and Natasha latched onto it.

"Ok well you've got medical training Steve, you stitch her up" Tony offered, no tone of sarcasm in his voice,

"Don't worry, 's not that bad" Natasha hissed as her leg nearly gave way. Steve scooped her up, purposely avoiding her injured leg, and trying to relieve pressure from her back.

"I'll get the medical kit" Pepper said as she dashed off, tears brimming at her eyes.

"You're comfy" Natasha whispered as Steve slowly walked her over to his bedroom, there was more space and privacy there. Tony chuckled softly as he wiped a lock of hair off her face,

"I think she's delirious" he said smiling slightly, "So how'd this happen anyway?"

"I was fighting a man on a raised platform and he tried to choke me, so I used…I used umm the foot thingy you built and killed him but then we both fell off and I scratched my leg and landed on my back" her words were slurred as Steve shook her slightly to make sure she remained awake,

"Little Red I would not call that a scratch" Tony uttered shaking his head, him and Steve connected eyes. "Ok you stay awake Nat, I'm gonna go now" he took the medical kit of a now returned Pepper and placed it on the bed.

"Thanks" Steve muttered, Tony left and shut the door behind him.

"Let's patch you up Nat, stick out your leg, and just relax" Steve had lay her down on his bed and he sat on the foot of it, preparing to stitch up her injury. She nodded and put her leg out, he winced at the sight of it, thankfully the cut wasn't as deep as it had first seemed and was relatively shallow and easy to mend.

"Ow, ow, ow" Natasha muttered as Steve rested her leg back down.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked concerned that he hadn't looked after her properly.

"No it's not my leg, it's my back, it's not damaged seriously but it aches really badly" her words weren't slurred anymore and she seemed slightly calmer. Steve nodded and assessed the situation, he vaguely wondered if she would try and kill him for doing this but he didn't care as long as it made her feel better. He crawled his way up to the top of the bed and gently pulled Natasha's tense body with him, so she was sitting in-between his legs, she didn't complain so he continued.

"You need a massage and I happen to be very good at them" Steve breathed, his words reminded Natasha of soft cotton pillows, and she had no idea why. "Can I?" he requested his hands hovering over her hips, she nodded in response and shivered as he pulled her t-shirt over her head, leaving her in just her bra and pants, he had earlier removed her suit and replaced it with a t-shirt to get easy access to her leg. He pushed her down so she was lying on her stomach; he made sure she was in a comfortable position, before jumping up to get lotion, when he returned she was nearly asleep, he smiled at the innocence of it.

He poured out a dollop of lotion and slowly began rubbing her shoulders, although his hands were heavy and large he created the perfect balance. She shivered more under his touch and he noticed as she began to relax, she moaned several times as he rubbed soothing circles into her back, he would be lying if he said that he didn't like the sound. Once Steve was done, he lay down in the same position as Natasha; they turned their heads so they were looking at each other.

"Thank you so much" Natasha mumbled,

"Anytime" he answered, his voice was strong and it made Natasha relax even further.

"I may keep you to that" she warned back, smiles tugged at their lips and in the heat of the moment, Steve wrapped his arm around Natasha waist, still rubbing soft movements into her muscles, she fell asleep and so did he, both in utter peace.

**Review please!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N So I reckon you guys will like this chapter, anyway I hope you do! So basically a chapter of fluff please review, and I do not own the song 'Suitcase' by Emeli Sande, as sung by Natasha in the beginning, I just like the song. Please review and enjoy! **

"My baby's got a suitcase; he's telling me it's too late. But don't nobody, please don't ask me why" Natasha was singing again, in the shower. Her voice was soft with a calming undercurrent that made you want to listen, Steve had knocked on her bedroom door and not realising she was in the shower, he had wandered in, and now found himself unable to move, too entranced by her voice. "Is someone there?" Natasha called out suspiciously; Steve would never understand how she did things like that.

"Yeah it's me Nat, I didn't realise you were in the bathroom, I err just came to ask you something" he answered sheepishly; he heard her laugh kindly and the shower door opened.

"It's fine what did you want to ask?" she replied opening the bathroom door; Steve averted his eyes although she had a towel on.

"Erm it doesn't matter now, sorry I disturbed you" he garbled and rushed towards the door,

"Steve-" Natasha tried to call him back but he was already gone, she knew he hadn't ran because she was only in a towel, it was something else, something bigger, but she didn't have time to find out she had to get ready.

Tonight the Avengers had to go to a ball that was being held to raise money to support the homeless children of New York, little did Natasha know but Steve had actually been planning on asking her to be his date but memories of his past, being the sickly little boy no girl wanted, came rushing back to him and he couldn't do it. This was why he was now sat in his room, his head in his hands wondering if he would ever get the girl, his girl, Natasha. There was a rapping on his door and his stomach flipped, oh god that was her, was his main thought process until the voice came through the door,

"It's me, Tony. Capsicle let me in I need to talk to you!" he shouted, hitting the door again. Steve rose to his feet and pulled the door open,

"What is it Stark? I'm busy" he snapped, Steve usually was a very calm and kind person but he was stressed and Tony had this way of getting into his head and giving him a headache.

"Whoa calm down, Cap. I just came here to give you some advice that's all" Tony said raising his hands up in a peaceful gesture. "Look I'm a genius and I know you want to ask Natasha out so I thought I would help" Steve looked at him questioningly.

"Like legitimate serious advice?" he inquired curiously, Tony nodded and absentmindedly picked up Steve's shield, examining it in the way only a genius engineer could.

"Yeah, look Natasha's the type of girl who wants to be swept of her feet in passion without planning it or anything first. With her you just have to assume she wants it" Tony explained as if he was talking to a small confused child.

"I don't know Tony, that doesn't sound like Natasha" Steve said doubtfully.

"Cap, I know women ok, and I know Little Red even better, just trust me on this" Steve nodded and thanked Tony, he would do it, he would be spontaneous, he would win Natasha over, he wasn't the sickly little boy he used to be, he was going to get his girl.

**LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE BREAK **

"Natasha, you look so beautiful" Steve gasped as he stood by the elevator watching as Natasha glided towards him, she was dressed in a slender black dress that perfectly hugged her figure, she smiled a wide smile that showed her straight teeth.

"You clean up pretty well yourself" Natasha praised as she reached him, she scanned his body up and down, he was dressed in a smart tuxedo that highlighted his muscled frame and calm blue eyes.

"Thank you, everybody else is downstairs we should probably go" Natasha nodded and they stepped into the elevator.

"So are you hoping to meet a lady tonight?" Natasha asked as she plumped her hair using the shiny elevator doors as a mirror.

"Oh no I've already got my sights set on someone" Steve confessed while blushing slightly, Natasha didn't seem to notice.

"Oh that's nice, I suppose" she answered stiffly, he didn't have time to question it before the doors slid open and she stepped out, Steve followed behind wondering why she seemed upset.

Natasha walked straight up to Clint and smiled as he kissed her cheek and laughed as Tony wolf whistled behind her, only Clint noticed the smile didn't reach her eyes, as they walked outside to the waiting cars Clint wrapped his arm around her shoulders and whispered in her ear,

"What's wrong Natasha?" she just shook her head and looked away, she caught Steve's gaze and turned her head back. Clint, ever the hawk noticed. "What's he done Nat; do I need to put and arrow in his eye?"

"No Clint it's just…" she shook her head again and Clint nudged her in the side with his elbow "Steve told me that he liked someone and well…I kinda like him" Natasha admitted, Clint laughed softly.

"Natasha believe me Steve is completely under your spell, I can always tell when a guy is and he is, trust me on this, why do you like him anyway?" he asked curiously.

"I like how safe he is, with our style of life I like having someone there who will never leave, you know what I mean?" she explained, Clint noticed how soft her voice went and he couldn't help but look over to Steve who was climbing into another car with Bruce and Thor, he had a confused look on his face as if he was trying to figure out a puzzle, Clint would bet good money that he was thinking about Natasha.

**LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LIE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE BREAK **

"Well" Natasha muttered sarcastically "this looks fun" Bruce and Clint snorted while they scanned the formal ballroom, while Pepper shook her head in disapproval but tried to bite back a smile. "If anyone needs me I'll be by the bar" Tony laughed,

"I think I'll join you" he added hooking her arm; they began to stroll away before Pepper grabbed them.

"No, no you two. Do some socializing and then you can drink" she demanded, she grabbed Tony's arm and led him off before handing Natasha to Bruce and Thor. The Avengers separated and began chatting as normally as they could while counting the seconds until they could respectfully leave.

Steve was talking to several council members and trying to get on their good side, and with his golden-boy charms it was an easy feat. He gazed across the floor and spotted Natasha in all her finery talking to a man, they were both laughing and the man was gesturing wildly as she took a sip of her drink.

"Excuse me please" Steve interrupted the councilman politely and made his way over to the bar where Natasha was. As she spotted him Natasha stood up and directed the man's attention to Steve.

"Hi Steve, this is John Freewall, he's a politician and a very funny man" Natasha introduced, she winked to John as she did so who smiled in return, he turned to face Steve and held out his hand, Steve resisted the urge not to shake it but he did grip it extremely hard, John did his best to hide the pain but Natasha noticed and raised an eye-brow at Steve.

"I'm sure you are Mr Freewall" Steve replied tight lipped.

"Please call me John" John replied eyeing Steve suspiciously.

"No that's quite alright Mr Freewall" Steve replied, there was an awkward and tense silence before Natasha turned back to John and they resumed their conversation. Steve looked away and caught Tony's eye he was looking at John with disapproval and slight anger, Steve looked back and watched in shock, as John placed his arm around Natasha's waist and held his hand over her ass, he pulled her closer. She giggled and turned her head when he tried to kiss her, blocking his advances.

"Why don't we take this somewhere else, maybe upstairs" Johns suggested, Natasha shook her head.

"No, I'm sorry I don't really think that's going to happen" she replied tersely and began to turn away, John grabbed her wrist and was about to say something when Steve suddenly felt his fist swing around and hit the man square in the face, Natasha jumped back in shock. John's nose began to drip blood,

"Steve!" Natasha warned and pushed the super soldier back just as a knife sliced where he was standing. Natasha stepped forward and gripped John's arm she placed a foot on his neck and pulled there was a sharp snap, John dropped the knife and screamed in pain. She kicked him square in the face with her heel and slammed his head into the ground still using her foot. The whole party had gone silent before several uniformed Shield Agents ran in and hoisted John up, Steve looked at Natasha in surprise. She smiled lightly and waved a piece of paper in her hands "that was a mission"

Steve heard Clint's sharp laugh and the party slowly began to start up again,

"Well that was unexpected" Steve muttered as Natasha looked up at him and smiled, she wiped some splattered specks of blood off her face and began to saunter towards the doors,

"Are you coming Cap?" she teased lightly, with his mouth hanging open Steve followed. He followed her out onto a balcony; she was sitting on the edge and looking up at the sky.

"I'm sorry about that, I had to retrieve some codes from him, and that was the only way to do it" her smile faded as she thought about it, maybe it was seeing her sad but something inside Steve clicked and he walked up to her and placed his large arms on either side of her small body, she looked up at him and he caught her mouth in a kiss. It was soft but firm, their lips melted together before Steve pulled away.

"I'm sorry; I shouldn't have done that…" he said and started to move away. Natasha jumped up and ran into his chest, he automatically wrapped his arms around her waist, she placed her legs around his middle and he held her thighs, they looked into each other's eyes.

"So are we together now?" Natasha asked softly grazing her lips over Steve's. He shuddered around her as the rain began to fall. It was large drops and few of them, before it really started to come down, it made Natasha's hair become stringy but it reminded Steve of one of the pictures Tony had forcefully shown him, of one of the bikini models walking out the ocean.

"I want us to be" Steve said as water fell from his face and onto his eyelashes, blurring his vision.

"So do I" Natasha replied happily, both completely oblivious to the other Avengers staring at them from inside the ballroom, the rain continued to fall and the couple continued to kiss. Tony broke the silence,

"You guys all owe me fifty bucks"

**Woooo! They're finally together, let the fluff begin! As always review please!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N So bit of tension for you guys but I tried to make it funny as well, we also have a slightly vulnerable Natasha at the end enjoy! **

**IMPORTANT: Do you guys want to see Steve or Natasha hurt because I'm doing a chapter and one of them needs to be injured and the other is gonna comfort or something, let me know! **

**And thank you to ym4yum1 we had a nice long chat and now I've got more of an idea of where this story is going…but knowing me it'll change again. **

You would think because it was Steve and Natasha starting a new relationship, if there was any arguments it would be between them two and about their relationship and it was, the fights that followed were about their relationship, it just wasn't Steve and Natasha arguing…it was pretty much everyone else.

Clint threatens Steve 

Steve was watching a television programme on The Cold War, trying to catch up on history when something heavy dropped down from the ceiling. In a flash Steve was in his fighting stance and facing the intruder, except it wasn't an intruder, it was just Clint. Clint's face was a mask, it was stony and fierce, Steve took a step back, half wondering if his teammate was going to try and kill him.

"Stand down Rogers, we need to talk" Clint growled, Steve stood on the balls of his feet ready to move out the way just in case, but he lowered his arms.

"Go ahead" Steve said, he vaguely wondered if this was something people did in the 21st Century and he just wasn't up to date.

"It's about Natasha" as soon as Clint said it, Steve's whole body reacted and he was standing straighter, he took a few steps forward towards Clint threateningly.

"Is she ok? Tell me Barton!" he demanded, Clint seemed slightly shocked but didn't show a reaction,

"She's fine and that is why I'm here to talk to you" Steve faltered and Clint took the opportunity to gain the upper hand again, "So listen here Rogers, she better stay fine, in fact no, she better stay better than fine, ok? Because I swear to god if you ever hurt her, or even upset her I will not fail to shoot an arrow through your eye socket and make it as painful as possible. Are we clear, Captain?" Clint asked mockingly, Steve had never seen the archer so serious.

"Clint you know I would never hurt her" Steve said, his voice now calm as he realised why Clint was so tense. Clint nodded and held out his hand, Steve shook it and both their bodies relaxed.

"Steve, Nat's my best friend and like a little sister to me, I've gotta look out for her because no-one else would, I know you'd never hurt her" Clint admitted.

"I understand Clint" Steve turned around to grab a drink, "Do you want anything-"he stopped talking because when he looked back Clint had disappeared. "Well that was intimidating" Steve muttered to himself.

"Damn right Cap" he heard from somewhere in the ceiling.

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Bruce threatens Steve 

"Good Morning Steve" Bruce greeted kindly as the Captain walked into his lab, "What's wrong?" he asked noticing the other man kept looking behind him and up at the ceiling.

"Morning Bruce, it's nothing it's just Clint gave me such an intense talk just now, about treating Natasha right" Steve said chuckling nervously but stopped when he noticed Bruce's strange expression. "What's going on…?" he asked suspiciously.

"Oh it's nothing really, just that a while back Natasha fought away these agents who were trying to antagonize the Hulk, god knows why they'd want to. But anyway after that the Hulk's liked Natasha and he has some err…strong feelings of protection towards her" Bruce said looking at the super soldier and shrugging his shoulders awkwardly.

"Oh god another one" Steve mumbled and put his head in his hands, "Go ahead Bruce"

"Ok well I'm not really an intimidating person but if I don't at least try and threaten you the Hulk might. So here goes, if you ever abuse or upset Natasha, in any way, well then I won't even be able to stop the Hulk from going after you and honestly if you ever did do that to her, I don't think I'd want to stop him. But yeah, bottom line is, you do anything bad to Nat and you have to deal with the Hulk, ok?" Bruce said his voice wasn't threatening but Steve listened anyway.

"I understand Bruce, umm and Hulk" Steve said standing up and walking towards the door,

"Ok thanks Steve I'll talk to you soon" Bruce shouted, as Steve turned back to say goodbye to the scientist he saw a flash of green in his eye…Steve turned and ran all the way to the kitchen.

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Thor threatens Natasha 

Natasha hit the punching bag angrily; she had already gone for an hour and a half long jog today, the punching bag kept bouncing back and she was getting frustrated it wasn't until a large frame held it still. She assumed it was Steve and looked up happily, she took a step back when she realised it was the god of thunder.

"Hi Thor, something wrong?" she asked looking at his straight face.

"Actually Lady Natasha I would like a word with you, regarding your relationship with the Captain" he was looking her directly in the eye, Natasha stared straight back.

"Umm go ahead" she said walking towards the mats and away from Thor's looming figure, before she could move away he grabbed her hand, he didn't hurt her at all, he was just signalling that he wanted her full attention, she nodded for him to continue.

"I know that you love the Captain but I fear that one day you will harm him, maybe not physically but mentally. I understand that you have been through grief in your life and it causes you to push people away, but Lady Natasha, if you push the Captain away you will seriously hurt him" Thor explained sadly, "I cannot let you do that to him, I would never hurt either of you but you cannot hurt him" Thor's voice was grave and Natasha could see that he felt guilty about doing this, she reached up and rubbed his forearm in a, albeit slightly awkward, sign of comfort.

"I understand Thor" she said softly, he nodded but neither broke away.

"I have one more question" Thor said, Natasha swore in her head,

"Ok ask away…I guess" Natasha muttered reluctantly not wanting another warning. Thor's face broke into a smile,

"Where are the tasty pop tarts housed?"

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Tony threatens Natasha

"Hey Natashalie" Tony said resting his head on his hands and putting his elbows on the table, he was watching as Natasha delicately drank her smoothie,

"What Stark?" she asked tiredly, he moved around to sit next to her,

"I'm just letting you know that I am slightly afraid for our dear old Capsicle's life" he said casually, Natasha glanced up at this, she raised an eyebrow,

"Really? How so?" she asked, the corners of her mouth lifting up. He grinned back,

"Well spidey, I know you love him but what if he pisses you off, and we all know he can do that, and you being the little assassin that you are decide it would just be better to shut him up, permanently" Tony asked, his tone was playful, but if Natasha didn't know better she would have said there was a hidden tinge of seriousness.

"Stark if you're worried I'm going to shoot Steve because he pissed me off just tell me" she said, standing up and heading to the door, she was sick of people thinking she was going to hurt Steve.

"Now, now Nat stay calm, but I suppose yes, look I know Steve can handle himself but you should know that I'm not going to let you hurt him, ok?" Natasha stared at him for a moment; she let the cup drop from her hand and turned on her heel and began to storm away towards her bedroom, only to run straight into Steve.

Steve had just finished his talk with Bruce and was still slightly offended from both his and Clint's talks, he saw Tony following Natasha and Thor walking back towards her, by watching the expression on her face he was pretty sure he looked the same.

"Tony! Thor!" she shouted angrily, "Leave me alone, for fucks sake I am not going to mentally or physically hurt Steve!" she opened her door angrily and went inside slamming it hard behind her.

"You thought she was going to hurt Steve?" Clint shouted in disbelief, "If anyone is going to hurt anyone, Steve is going to hurt Natasha" Steve turned to face him and Bruce,

"I would never hurt Natasha! You are all over-reacting" Steve argued back, he knocked on Natasha's door "It's me, can you let me in I don't want to deal with these idiots right now" he said through gritted teeth, the door unlocked and Steve disappeared inside, he too slammed it hard behind him. Emotions were high and everyone was shouting apart from Natasha and Steve who were still inside her room.

"I can't believe you would think Natasha would hurt Steve, it's definitely the other way around" Bruce said his temper rising, Tony shook his head adamantly.

"Thor help me out here" Tony called over to the thunder god,

"I too agree with the Man of Iron, Natasha is more likely to hurt Steve" it was like it set of a trigger, they were all shouting and getting up in each other's faces. It was normal for the Avengers to fight about something like this, it was just never usually about two of the teams members. The shouting continued and the tension rose.

From inside Natasha's bedroom

"This is insane" Natasha mumbled, "I can't believe they think I would ever shoot you" Steve shook his head tightly and pulled her into his chest, he kissed the top of her head.

"I know you wouldn't, and Nat you know I would never, ever hurt you, right?" She nodded under his chin,

"I know" they were silent for a few moments, just holding each other, listening to the shouting outside the door. "What are we going to do about them?" Natasha asked, she had dark eyes.

"When was the last time you slept?" Steve asked slowly leading Natasha over to her bed,

"When you gave me that massage" she mumbled, her eyes were shutting already, Steve had to grab her hands and pull her away from the chair she nearly walked into.

"Oh Nat, that was three days ago" Steve sighed softly, he knew her nightmares were bad and that he needed to talk to her about them, but he couldn't wake her up now. He placed her in the bed and pulled off her top and trousers, she mumbled thanks. He pulled the quilt tightly over her and kissed her softly, she smiled underneath his lips. He was about to turn around and leave when she reached out and grabbed his hand,

"Would you stay, you err, you keep the nightmares, umm away" she said, shutting her eyes so she didn't have to make eye contact.

"It's ok to need someone" he said softly, he was about to sit on the floor before Natasha pulled him back up,

"Ok fine I need you, so you better get in the damn bed with me" she growled, only half playfully, Steve knew better than to piss off a tired assassin. He climbed around to the other side and pulled her into him, she rested her head on his chest and curved his one arm around her waist, and the other supporting her neck, he watched over her as her breathing slowed. The arguing in the corridor seemed to fade away as fatigue claimed Natasha, Steve followed, and they were both still holding hands.

Back in the corridor 

"Guys" Bruce interrupted Tony's rant, "It's silent in there" he pointed at Natasha's bedroom door, they all looked at each other silently debating whether to go in,

"Maybe they killed each other" Tony suggested quietly, all their eyes widened and Clint pushed the door open slowly, the four men filled the doorway and watched the assassin and soldier sleep in each other's arms.

"I guess we were all wrong" Thor said as he felt guilt pile on his shoulders, he noticed the others looked the same.

"I reckon" Tony broke the silence as the men headed back to the common room as quietly as they could, "those two are going to outlive us all, and we'll end up murdering each other" they all chuckled softly as Clint murmured,

"Yeah, but I'm killing you"

**Lol I couldn't help myself with Clint's little comment there. And now I will beg for reviews! **

**Pleeeeeeeeease 3 **


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N Couldn't resist this chapter, this sounds weird but can anyone give me any information on Thanksgiving, because I wanna do a chapter about it but I'm from England so we don't have it, what do you eat? When is it? Is it just a day? It would be super helpful thanks x**

Natasha waltzed into the living room; she stood directly in front of Steve who was sitting watching 'Pearl Harbour.'

"Hey baby" she murmured walking towards him, his eyes flicked from the film to her; he quickly snatched up the remote control and muted the TV. He pulled her into him, she swung her legs on either side of him and rested her forehead on his, they stared at each other for a minute before Steve pushed his lips up to hers and she chuckled under them. In one swift motion he had pushed Natasha onto the couch and was on top of her, she smiled and her eyes twinkled.

"So…" Steve said nibbling her ear, "what brings you in here?" he asked softly, she shook her head but didn't try and move away.

"No Steve not now, I needed to ask you if you have completed your team reports." He kissed her again but pulled away much too quick for her liking,

"Yes I did" Each of the Avengers had been ordered to write reports on their team members and how well they thought they worked together. "I handed them in about an hour ago, the one you left on my desk as well" Natasha's eye widened and she tried to wriggle out from under him,

"No, no, no!" she muttered, her voice grew louder as she carried on, "Steve! How could you do that?" she practically shouted at him, he looked at her in shock and pulled himself up.

"Do what? I was doing you a favour" he said indignantly back. She jumped up and spun around to face him,

"Did you read it?" she screamed, her fists were clenched and she stepped towards him.

"No, I didn't read it…why would I?" he asked his voice lowering slightly.

"Why would I leave it on your desk if I didn't want you to read it?" Natasha snapped back, she ran a hand through her hair.

"What was in it?" Steve asked walking towards her.

"It was a joke, it was a report for you, I…I wrote stuff about you…personnel stuff" she put her head in her hands and shook her head again. "Under 'good qualities' I put that the super serum didn't just make your muscles big, it made umm other stuff big" Steve's eyes widened in shock.

"I handed it to Fury!" Steve shouted. Natasha flinched,

"You should have read it first, oh god what are we going to do?" she asked impatiently.

"What else did you write…?" he asked, almost too afraid to hear the answer.

"Oh god, I said your stamina really is amazing…and that you love" she cringed slightly,

"Go on" Steve muttered,

"You love…to lick white chocolate off my err body" Steve sat down heavily on the couch, Natasha leant against the wall, they let the silence seep in.

"We have to get that report back" Steve said determinedly, Natasha nodded,

"I think we need back up. Jarvis alert the other Avengers, it's time to assemble"

Half an Hour later 

"Ok so everybody knows the plan?" Natasha asked as her and the guys all stood waiting in a conference room near Fury's office.

"Yes we get it Little Red, but you never actually said what we're getting back from Fury, what's in this file?" Tony asked raising his eyebrow as he typed commands into his phone. Natasha and Steve shared glances, they had agreed not to tell the others what was in the file, to save them the embarrassment, they knew especially if Tony and Clint found out they would insist on reading it.

"That doesn't matter" Steve replied, his tone was serious, "all you need to know is that we need it back" The remaining men looked like they were going to argue,

"Please" Natasha added, the young assassin never begged for anything…they decided it would be best to just do what the soldier and spy wanted.

"Okay" Bruce interrupted from his position by the door, "Target is leaving the red zone" Natasha nodded; she looked back at the others Thor stared at her in confusion.

"Thor for god's sake, Fury has left his office, now go!" she yelled, they all nodded and scattered away.

**LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LIEN BREAK **

Natasha and Steve ran around Fury's office, desperately searching through stacks of papers and draws full of documents.

"Damn it where is it?" Natasha mumbled as she pushed open yet more filing cabinets,

"Shit, oh shit! Target is in green zone now, wait! I mean target is in red zone…oh fuck I don't know Fury's coming back!" Clint hissed into his comms, Natasha and Steve stared at each other.

"Stall him!" Steve half whispered, half shouted into his comms.

"Jeez ok Capsicle keep your cool" Tony muttered. "Hey Fury!" he suddenly shouted, Natasha and Steve didn't need their comms they could already hear him anyway. They both started towards the door while still checking papers as they went.

"Nat we have to find it!" Steve said, Natasha nodded and ran back to the desk; she pulled out the left side draws and yelped in surprise.

"Steve it's here! I have it!" they both grinned until they heard…

"Wait Fury! No don't go in there!" come from their comms; Steve slowly pulled open the door and grabbed Natasha's hand. They tip-toed out and found themselves facing Fury's back with no-where to run.

"Why Stark what have you done?" he asked spinning around to enter his office, instead walking straight into Steve. Fury looked at him and Natasha suspiciously, "What are you two doing?"

"Nothing sir, just going to train" Natasha said casually, she pushed the report behind her back; Fury narrowed his eyes at the pair. They all nodded tensely at each other, he turned into his office and just as he was about to shut the door, he said,

"You know Rogers; I never had you down as someone who liked white chocolate"

**LOL! REEEEEEVIEW! **


	11. Chapter 11

**Hi so I'm not too confident about this chapter so your thoughts and constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated. I hope it's ok…**

**And sorry about the reposting, me and fanfiction had a fight…fanfiction won**

Steve woke up and immediately knew something was different, he looked down and watched the sleeping woman on his chest. His beautiful assassin was breathing heavily on top of him, her eyes fluttered open and close and her mouth was open slightly. Steve took in the fact of how innocent she looked; you wouldn't have guessed she was able to kill you with just her legs when she looked like this. But this wasn't what was different, it was something else.

"Capsicle!" Steve heard Tony's annoying voice from the other side of the door, he didn't want to answer and wake Natasha, so he stayed quiet and hoped Tony would leave anyway. Of course Tony being Tony, he didn't. Instead he barged through the door, he did falter slightly when he saw Natasha but he didn't shut up.

"Nice one Cap," he said nodding towards Natasha who was stirring, "anyway you need to come and check this out" he began to leave again, he was more excited than usual and it left Steve with a growing feeling of dread. "Oh, and bring Little Red too."

"Piss off Stark." Natasha muttered, her mouth was squashed against Steve's chest. Tony laughed and left. "Morning Steve." she continued,

"Morning Nat, we should probably get up and see what he wants." she sighed and didn't move. The strange feeling was starting to settle in Steve's stomach and he wanted to find out what was going on, so, wordlessly he scooped Natasha up and flung her over his shoulder.

"You jackass." she said, her words were filled with venom but Steve could hear the laughter behind them, she uselessly thumped her hands against his back and wriggled her legs. He kept his strong arms around her and eventually she gave up and allowed him to carry her into the living room. The other Avengers looked up and chuckled to themselves, it made them all happy to see the soldier and assassin in love…even if they didn't admit it to each other.

Steve placed Natasha back on her feet and she scowled at him but her eyes were twinkling, Clint ran up to them and grabbed Natasha's hand and gestured for Steve to follow him. He led them to the large window,

"Jarvis open the shutters." Clint said gleefully. Steve's heart plummeted as soon as he looked outside; snow covered New York, the white made the city look clean and pure, Natasha smiled lightly,

"It looks nice." she commented before heading back into the kitchen to make a drink, the men –excluding Steve- shook their heads at her. Steve was rooted to the spot he was being drowned by memories, memories of Peggy, Bucky, his fellow soldiers. He thought about the biting cold pulling him in, he couldn't breathe, his chest constricted and he couldn't get the images out of his head.

"Steve," Bruce's calm voice rang around his head, "Are you ok?" the question managed to hold Steve to reality.

"Umm, yes…I'm ok." he managed to stutter out, he couldn't tear his eyes away from the outside of New York, he could feel the stares at his back.

"Well, we're all going to enjoy a day out in the snow come out if you want to." Bruce said gently pushing the other men towards the door and nodding at Natasha as he went past. Tony and Clint tried to protest but Thor helped Bruce pull them out. Steve continued to watch out of the window, he stayed there for several minutes, contemplating his thoughts. Natasha sidled up to him, and rested her head onto his shoulder; he leant into her and stroked her hair.

"What's wrong Steve?" she asked kindly, it was a strange tone but Natasha obviously cared about him and meant what she said. He took in a ragged breath,

"It just reminds me of the plane crash, the cold in general does but this…this is just torture." he murmured into her hair, she nodded and turned into him.

"So stay inside, its ok to be afraid sometimes. You're a super soldier that used to live in the 1940's things like this will take time to heal, it's ok." They looked into each other's eyes. Natasha reached up to kiss him softly, he breathed into her ear and she pulled away.

"I'm sorry baby, but I've gotta go on a mission today, are you gonna be ok?" she asked, pulling away to look up at him.

"Yeah that's fine, just please Nat, please be careful." he begged in return. She nodded and kissed him quickly.

"Tell the guys where I went, I'll see you tonight." they smiled at each other and Natasha turned to pack her bag. Steve glanced back out the window and realised he couldn't go out there…he wasn't ready.

**LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE BREAK **

Steve watched with amusement as Tony, Bruce, Thor and Clint came trooping back in, all covered in cold melted snow. Steve shivered just watching them but they seemed happy enough so he laughed alongside them. After they had all changed clothes and gotten dry again, the men joined Steve in the kitchen.

"So is Nat sleeping off her mission." Clint asked casually as he threw a banana at Tony.

"No she's not back yet." Steve replied naturally as he continued stirring tea,

"What?" Clint asked in shock, his voice was serious and it made Steve spin around to face him. He looked worried and it was rubbing off on the others.

"She should be back by now?" Tony asked his voice had lost any tone of sarcasm and he was leaning towards Clint.

"Yes definitely, if she isn't it means some shits gone wrong." Clint replied, they all looked at each other.

"We need to find Lady Natasha immediately!" Thor said his loud voice was lower than usual.

"She said she was going to Gaspasie, Canada." Bruce said a frown covering his face.

"We can't attract attention, me and Capsicle will go." Tony said determinedly, no-one argued although it was clear the other men wanted to.

Gaspasie, Canada: Natasha 

Natasha moaned in pain as she felt the blood running from her lip, nose and forehead. She had been beaten up harshly and chucked out in the snow and ice to die. As she lay there, the cold numbing away the pain her thoughts went back to the Avengers, her friends…family. And of course Steve, she thought it was ironic that she would die in the cold and unlike Steve would not be dug out in 70 years, instead a funeral would be held and her body would probably never be found. It made her feel empty and she wished, she could at least die in the warm.

Steve and Tony 

As soon as the quinjet landed and the door lowered Steve stumbled backwards, Tony had already flew off in search of Natasha but Steve was stuck. The landscape was covered in snow, the cold hit him like a wall, of course it had been cold in New York since he woke up but not like this, this was the cold from his nightmares. He stood up and gripped his shield, he thought about Natasha and only Natasha, she needed him and he was going to goddamn die before he let the cold take her, he was fighting for her.

Once his decision had been made and he jumped out into the compact powder he realised as long as he didn't concentrate on it too much he could do this. He began running as quickly as he could occasionally slipping and landing on his ass, when he did he would just get back up and keep going, he had to. It took him half an hour of searching as snow began to fall down, him and Tony had been reporting to each other every couple of minutes until Steve said,

"Tony I've found her!"

"On my way Cap." Steve rushed over to Natasha, he fell again and landed face first next to her, he heard her light laugh as she watched his pathetic desperation. She tried to raise a hand but she couldn't all her energy and warmth had left her. Steve gently examined her for injures, she was bloody and bruised but the cold was the real danger.

"Oh Nat honey, it's ok I'm here just stay with me ok." she laughed again, it turned into a weak cough but she managed a small smile.

"You're out in the cold Steve." she whispered, she had intended it to be louder but her voice was scratchy and painful.

"I know, I needed to find you, I'd do anything for you." he kissed her forehead and began to remove his jacket, Natasha tried to protest but he put a light finger on her lips, he wrapped her as best he could as the wind picked up. If he hadn't of been holding her so close he would have missed it,

"I love you Steve." She murmured,

"I love you too Nat." she rested her head on his chest and shut her eyes. "Oh god…" he whispered.

**Review, was that too intense…? Sorry if it wasn't good **


	12. Chapter 12

**So I didn't get many reviews last chapter and I was pretty insecure about it, so if you have improvements for me just tell me because I don't want to disappoint. **

**Please check out the poll on my profile, it's for my new story 'Unforgiving Enemies' and if you want it to be Steve/Natasha I need to know **

**Thanks for reading all that xx**

Natasha was walking arm-in-arm around Central Park with Steve when their relationship took a big step. Well, it wasn't until the next day did their relationship actually change but it was during this walk did the chain of events that led to this start.

"So how do you-"Natasha was interrupted by a young child who ran up to the two superheroes.

"You're Captain America! Aren't you?" the child shouted, he looked about seven and his big brown eyes were staring up at Steve with complete adoration. Steve kneeled down so he was level with the child he looked directly into the child's eye and gave his golden smile,

"That I am little buddy, so what's your name?" he asked kindly, the child's smile grew even larger…if that was possible.

"My name's Matt Jonas, you're my biggest hero, like ever, you're the bestest hero there is!" he shouted in Steve's face. Even Natasha couldn't bite back the smile from the Matt's excitement; Steve reached out and affectionately ruffled his hair. The kid was practically jumping up and down at this point, that was until his mother strode over.

"Matthew! You better not be bothering them." she said sharply, whilst blushing at her son's inconsiderate interruption. Natasha shook her head,

"Don't worry about it; you'd be surprised with how many kids do this to him." she explained smiling at her boyfriend who was listening to the child that was gesturing wildly as he told the super soldier a story. The mother laughed softly and picked the grinning child up,

"Thank you so much for talking to him, I know you didn't have to." she said lightly, the two heroes smiled and watched as the mom and child walked away.

"You must inspire so many children every day." Natasha muttered in awe as Steve wrapped his large arms around her, he pulled her into his muscled chest. He smiled and kissed the top of her head, if only he knew what she was thinking. If only he had realised her doubts. If only the paparazzi hadn't have spotted them.

**LINE BREAK LINE BREAK **

**One Day Later:**

Steve felt his stomach drop as he spotted it from across the street. _It _being the magazine that would change his life. Natasha and Steve had worked hard to keep their relationship secret from the public, for their own safety but they had agreed to relax and let whatever happens happen on persuasion from the other Avengers, who assured them that they wouldn't let anything hurt the assassin or soldier because of their relationship. However, when they had discussed this none of them had thought about the what the public might think and how that could affect them, as it turns out that should have been their main priority.

So, when Steve had left for his morning jog as usual, the day after meeting the young child in the park and he had saw the magazine stand from across the street proudly displaying a picture of him and Natasha, he sprinted over without a second thought. Dodging several cars and angry New Yorkers he snatched up the glossy magazine and tried not to panic. On the front was possibly the worst case scenario Steve could have imagined. He threw a dollar at the man who was selling the gossip and ran back towards the Tower; he flipped to the page of the article and felt his heart beat quicker.

_So it's official, Natasha Romanoff and Steve Rogers are an item. This picture shows them enjoying an intimate moment in Central Park; previously the soldier and the spy had been trying to keep their relationship a secret from the public but obviously they changed their minds. Although they did not kiss or show any particular intimate relation it is quite clear –especially from the picture- that the two Avengers are a couple. But the one question remains: _

_Is the Black Widow good enough for America's Golden Boy? _

Steve shut the magazine angrily, how could they even ask that question. Steve knew for a fact that Natasha was ten times more worthy than he was, but he just couldn't understand why no-one else could see it. He also knew that as soon as Natasha saw this she would believe it to be true, she already doubted the red in her ledger and this may very well make up her mind. So, he decided he would make sure that she didn't find out, it was the only way to insure Natasha's happiness, she didn't need to worry about things like this, this was pathetic gossip that hid the truth. He always said he would protect her from enemies and as far as he was considered, this was an enemy.

But, it didn't matter just how determined Steve was because it was too late. Natasha had already seen the magazine and she was already packing a bag. She had already decided.

**Ten Minutes Later: **

Steve ran straight into Tony and Bruce who were talking about god knows what to do with physics.

"Whoa, Capsicle what's wrong?" Tony asked picking himself up from the ground, Steve didn't even stop.

"Sorry guys, is Natasha in her room?" he shouted as he ran towards the stairs.

"Yeah she is. Is everything ok Steve?" Bruce asked having to yell the last part as the super soldier ran away.

"It's fine, everything's fine!" Steve said as Bruce and Tony watched him run, when he was out of earshot Tony muttered,

"Damn he has got a fine ass." Bruce awkwardly stared at the billionaire and took two steps away. "What he has?"

"Yeah, you're right he has." Bruce commented. Both Tony and Bruce jumped a foot high when a teasing voice came from the vents,

"Definitely..."

Steve pushed open Natasha's bedroom door without bothering to knock, he saw Natasha quickly piling things into a shoulder bag, she froze and turned slowly around, she was about to say something but Steve started rambling instead.

"I know you saw the magazine, but that's ok it doesn't matter. I don't care what anybody else thinks, I love you Natasha, you are my life and you have been since I carried you out of that cave, in fact probably before then. It doesn't matter that America thinks I am its golden boy because we both know I'm not." he strode up to Natasha so he was directly in front of her, he gently cupped her chin and looked into her eyes, "I say stupid things to women, I've got a bad temper when it comes to my family, I trust too easily, I can't dance, I'm out of my time and I-" Natasha reached up and put a finger on Steve's lips.

"I don't want to hold you back." she muttered, Steve shook his head and got down on one knee, panic flared up in Natasha, she wasn't ready for marriage. Steve noticed her expression and laughed.

"Natasha, will you give me the honour of moving in with me?" A smile spread across Natasha's face and she fell to Steve's level, she kissed his nose.

"Yes, I will." they both laughed and leaned in. "Steve, all these little kids look up to you like a role model, no-one will ever do that to me." Natasha's voice was sad as they both sat on the floor holding each other.

"Tony says that you scare the shit out of him when you want to, Bruce loves how calm you stay in stressful situations, Thor respects your ability as a warrior, and Clint loves that after everything you've been through you still fight, and always win. I though, admire everything about you, the way you can't cook to save your life, the way you will fight to the death for your family, the way horror films freak you out and just you in general. Natasha you don't need any more fans you've already got the most important ones." Steve's voice grew softer as Natasha leant into him.

"Thank you." she mumbled and nuzzled his neck.

**One Week Later: **

Natasha and Steve were sitting in a café laughing about Tony and Clint's latest exploits. When a little girl no more than five ran up to them.

"Are you the Black Widow?" she asked innocently staring straight at Natasha, she didn't even glance at Steve who was smirking.

"Umm yes I am." Natasha replied. The little girl jumped up and down,

"Mommy! Mommy!" she yelled over her shoulder, "My name's Claire Parker, I'm your biggest fan." the little girl was showing her gapped teeth; she was the picture of innocence.

"I'm so sorry!" a women said rushing up to her daughter. Steve smiled at her, and it was clear she melted under the soldiers charms,

"Don't worry, we don't mind." he said softly smiling at the little girl who hugged Natasha. The mother grabbed Claire's hand and began to pull her away,

"You're my role model!" Claire shouted as she was dragged away. Natasha turned to face her boyfriend; Steve could see the tears in her eyes but didn't point them out.

"Does this mean I have to share you?" he asked pretending to whine.

And that was how an innocent walk in Central Park made Natasha feel better about her worthiness as a superhero, and allowed her and Steve to progress in their relationship.

**Later that Night: **

Natasha watched from their now shared bed as Steve got up, completely naked and reached for his trousers, Natasha smiled softly and muttered,

"You know Steve the guys are right, you do have a fine ass."

**Lol! I'm sorry if the last line ruined the mood, I just had to put it in there!**


	13. Chapter 13

**I'm so sorry for the delay, this is shorter than the other chapters but I would say fluffier. **

**Please let me know if you would rather short and fluffy chapters or more intense stuff, it would be a big help! **

**And finally, my new fic 'Unforgiving Enemies' is either going to be Steve/Natasha or Clint/Natasha, at the moment it's a tie on the poll on my profile so if you haven't voted…vote! **

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed and will review (hint hint) :D xx**

Steve watched Natasha's sleeping form, after he had found her in the ice, and she had fell into unconsciousness Tony had arrived and flown her straight back to New York, leaving Steve to trail back to the jet, alone. Funny thing was, after this traumatic adventure the cold didn't seem as daunting. Of course Steve still detested it but, he wasn't scared of it and that was enough for him, it was progress.

He hadn't left Natasha's side since he had arrived; the plastic chair he was occupying made his back crack whenever he moved but he needed to see her awake. He needed to see her alive. Steve knew that he and Natasha were meant to be together, he just knew it. But he still couldn't get rid of the annoying thought at the back of his mind, that they should be living in a row of identical houses in the suburbs, white picket fence, and children playing catch and riding their bikes, instead of rushing to hospitals just to see the other alive.

He missed it when times were simple, back in the 1940's, but now he was thankful for the modern age. If this had of happened to Natasha back in his day then she would probably, no definitely, be dead by now. He stroked her pale cheek and watched as her eyes fluttered beneath her closed eyelids. He picked up her small hand in his own larger one, and brought it to his mouth, slowly and gently, he pressed little kisses onto the tips of her fingertips and down the length of her thumb. Her hands were still icy and he took them in turn to blow onto them, Steve was so concentrated on what he was doing he didn't realise Natasha's bright green eyes staring up at him, she was awake.

Except her eye weren't bright, they were dull and confused, she tried to yank her hand out of his grasp but she didn't have the energy and he clung onto it, it was still cold. He knew she was scared although she would sooner die than show it, she couldn't place his face in her mind because of her drug induced state.

"It's me Steve, you know who I am. Natasha, it's ok." he soothed, he made his voice low and calming so as not to upset her. He could practically see her brain trying to catch up with her eyes, until finally she croaked out,

"I know Steve." he smiled softly at her; he picked up the waiting cup of water and brought it to her lips. She drank slowly and winced as it hit her dry sore throat. He took her empty cup back and just stared at her for a moment, she shut her eyes and for a terrifying moment Steve thought she was…dying. "I'm just tired." she mumbled as if she could actually read his mind, and honestly he wouldn't be surprised if she could.

She pushed herself back against the cushions more and a small frown appeared on her face,

"Steve it's cold." she complained. He nodded until he remembered she had her eyes closed and couldn't actually see him.

"I'll go and see if I can get the temperature turned up, ok?" he offered, he didn't really want to leave her but he would to make her more comfortable, maybe he could just shout out the door and down the corridor to the nurses…or maybe not.

"No, you don't need to, just get into bed with me." for a moment Steve thought she meant 'fondue' until her realised that with his size and body temperature she would be warm in no time. He complied quickly and it was a tight squeeze, not that Natasha minded. Steve on the other hand was concerned he would hurt her so he tried to stay as far on the edge as he could, Natasha shuffled over to him and on instinct he moved away. Too far away. He yelped as he fell out the bed, Natasha's head peered over the edge; one of her eyebrow's arched as she watched him with a teasing stare.

"Sorry." he muttered sheepishly. She rolled her eyes as he stood up,

"You won't hurt me. Please Steve I'm cold." he nodded and proceeded to carefully get back in the bed. This time he allowed Natasha to curl up into him and instantly relaxed when he felt her small body under his arm and on his chest. She rested her head in the gap between his head and shoulder; her red hair tickled his nose. She moaned as the warmth spread through her, she took her cold hands and slipped them under Steve's t-shirt resting them on his muscles.

"You don't mind do you?" Natasha asked remembering that he didn't like the cold and she was currently inflicting a lot of it. He shook his head and kissed her forehead.

"Not at all, just go to sleep Nat." his voice, body and presence in general were so calming that Natasha couldn't fight the drowsiness and allowed her eyes to shut. "I love you" he said remembering the last time he had said it he thought he might never get the chance again. Natasha didn't say anything in return but Steve didn't really mind, he knew she struggled to show and admit emotions. After about ten minutes Steve began to feel the blackness pull him in two, after waiting by Natasha's bed all day he was lacking sleep. So, he surveyed the area and deemed it safe enough, then he shut his eyes and allowed himself to drift off and just as he did…

"I love you to."

**Would you guys rather this type of chapter, shorter cuter fluffy moments? Or longer intense stuff? **

**Please review and let me know…I'm begging again ;) xx**


	14. Chapter 14

**Bit of a different style for this chapter and the next one, please review and let me know what you think, also my other fic 'Unforgiving Enemies' is going to be Steve/Natasha **** x **

**Thanks to, TiffOdair,** **MysticFantasy,** **ym4yum1 for reviewing **

**Thor: **

Thor sat by the kitchen table, happily eating his pop tarts while observing his teammates half-heartedly. Clint was sitting on the counter top flicking elastic bands at Tony who was arguing with Pepper about a meeting with Justin Hammer; Bruce was quietly reading his newspaper trying his best to ignore the rest of the group. Natasha though, was sat by herself on the far end of the table, she had been first in the kitchen and when Clint had entered she had flinched away from the friendly arm he had flung over her shoulder. As if this had happened before Clint moved away without another word and gave her a reassuring smile when she had glanced guiltily towards him after.

Thor was very observant despite his reputation; he knew that something was bothering the red headed assassin, something that was preventing her from connecting with the rest of the team, but like the rest of them he didn't ask her. Out of respect.

This changed however when Steve walked into the kitchen, he was slightly tense and Thor concluded that Natasha had left some time before he had woken up and he was worried. As soon as the soldier saw his girlfriend he relaxed slightly, Natasha didn't turn to face him; instead she continued sipping her coffee nonchalantly. Thor watched as Steve headed towards her, wordlessly he wrapped his arms around her small frame, she didn't react at all. To Thor's surprise Steve chuckled softly and nuzzled Natasha's neck, this time she laughed. It was a soft genuinely happy laugh and it captured the whole kitchens attention.

Steve buried his face into her hair before moving it down and kissing her neck softly. Natasha tried to wriggle away but he refused to let go, instead she turned and caught his lips in hers. It was a gently kiss and filled with something Thor couldn't identify. Natasha stood and leant into Steve's chest, he wrapped his large arms around her and they stood like that for a moment, both had their eyes shut and completely unaware of their audience. Natasha stood on her toes and whispered something to Steve; he nodded and kissed her forehead. She turned back around and began drinking her coffee again; Steve pulled a cup from the cabinets and sat next to her.

Everyone slowly turned back to their own conversations, only Thor noticed the way Steve had moved himself slightly in between Natasha and the rest of the team and only he noticed the way she had let him.

**Tony: **

Tony was ever so slightly jealous of Steve and Natasha's relationship, he was still going strong with Pepper but sometimes he would look at the spy and the soldier and see how happy they looked all the time and realise just how much he and Pepper argued. However, saying that he was sitting in his lab one afternoon when he heard shouting. Being Tony Stark he curiously followed the noise up the stairs and down the corridor and watched shock at the scene in front of him.

"I cannot believe you would do that!" Steve shouted as Natasha tried to grab his hand he spun around sharply to face her, "Why would you do that?"

"Steve, you know this is my job." Natasha said calmly but her voice was rising ever so slightly, Tony briefly wondered whether he should go but he of course decided to stay. "You knew this when we got together I thought you were ok with it." her voice was hard as she gripped Steve's hand.

"Obviously I'm not ok with you kissing other men Natasha." his voice was harsh and she immediately dropped his hand. "It made you look like-"he cut himself of and shook his head angrily.

"Look like what? A whore?" Natasha said her words where followed by a lengthy silence, while she stared at Steve accusingly and he looked back at her in horror. "Is that seriously what you see me as?" she asked sadly, she didn't even sound angry anymore just hurt.

"No Natasha that is definitely not what I see you as, it never was and never will be. I just meant that…" he trailed off again and Natasha stepped towards him. She wrapped her arms hesitantly around him, as if she was unsure whether he wanted her too. But as soon as she hesitated Steve pulled her mouth up to his and kissed her angrily. "I'm sorry, I know it's part of your job." Natasha nodded and they curled up together on the couch. She sat in his lap as he played with her hair.

"What were you going to say before…it made you look like?" Natasha asked softly resting her head on his shoulder.

"It made you look like you didn't love me." Steve admitted not able to look Natasha in the eyes; she snapped her head up and held his chin forcing him to look at her properly.

"That will never happen Steve." she rested her head back and he kissed her forehead. Tony watched in a quiet amazement at their emotionally charged relationship, he tried to understand how they could change moods so quickly but for once the genius couldn't figure it out.

Maybe some things were better left alone, so that's probably why for once in his life, Tony didn't get involved instead he backed away and left the couple alone. He figured they deserved it.

**The next chapter will be Bruce and Clint's…whatever it is that I just wrote ;) **

**Reviews inspire and make me update quicker! Also I would absolutely love to get this fic to 100 reviews…pretty please xx **

**Take care xx**


	15. Chapter 15

**Sorry this took so long, I had writers block with Clint…I really don't know how I ended up with this. **

**Thank you to ym4yum1, TiffOdair and AlicinhaMB99 for reviewing let's aim for 4 reviews this time guys, I would looove for this fic to get to 100! :D **

**Also do you guys want to see Steve get hurt or Natasha again? Emotional or physical? **

**Bruce: **

Bruce was having a bad day…all because he was lonely.

When he had first moved into Avengers Tower it had been ok because he wasn't completely surrounded by couples, it was just Pepper and Tony. But this weekend had been hard, Clint was out with his new girlfriend for that week anyway, Jane had come around to visit Thor, and Pepper and Tony were being unusually affectionate as were Natasha and Steve. And he was just in the middle of it all, he was a romantic at heart so he didn't mind the PDA (Public Displays of Affection) but it didn't mean he wanted them to all kiss right in front of him.

So as the Avengers and their plus ones, except Clint who was still out with his girl, sat/cuddled in the living room watching a film Bruce felt like a third wheel. Rather a seventh wheel, and to make matters worse they were all watching 'Valentine's Day.' Needless to say it hadn't been his choice.

He looked around the dimly lit room and saw the way Pepper was watching Tony's arc reactor instead of the TV, the way Thor was letting Jane lean against him while she traced patterns down his bicep, but really Bruce was observing Natasha and Steve. She was lying with her head in his lap and she was looking up at Steve, he was staring right back at her, it was as if no-one else was in the room and the film wasn't playing. Bruce felt a sudden rush of sadness; he excused himself and went away to hide in his lab by himself, he didn't think anyone even noticed him leave.

However, a week later the Avengers had been called out to an attack in Brooklyn, apparently killer robots can't wait and Bruce had to drag himself out of bed and already he wasn't happy. Fury had told him that the threat was not big enough for the Hulk and he was to wait inside the jet, the damages caused by him wouldn't equal the amount of danger, he happily agreed. This was the moment his opinion on relationships changed, he was watching his teammates preparing themselves to fight, and his attention was caught by Steve and Natasha.

Steve was holding Natasha tightly, his arms formed a protective cage as if he could keep her safe from whatever they were about to face. She was held up against his chest with her small arms looped around his neck; they looked slightly uncomfortable at their position but neither let go so it couldn't have been that bad. Natasha was staring up at Steve, she looked as if she was trying to take in all the details of his face, he leant down and kissed her softly. They rested their foreheads against each other's; Bruce could barely make out their conversation.

"Please be safe Natasha." Steve had begged softly, Natasha nodded and nuzzled his neck,

"You be careful too Steve, don't needlessly risk your life." He nodded and they kissed again.

"Ok Avengers deploy." Fury's stressed voice sounded over the jet's intercom, Steve and Natasha quickly separated. Steve raised his shield and Natasha loaded her guns, they looked at each other intimately once more, before running off in separate directions, their feelings lost in the adrenaline as business took over from pleasure.

Suddenly Bruce was thankful he was single, he didn't think he would be able to do that every time there was a fight.

Well, that was until he met Darcy.

**Clint: **

Clint was good with women, he and Tony were the playboys of the group, but Tony had Pepper so Clint was officially the best at being single. He knew what women liked, what they wanted to hear and how to get them into bed. Saying that, Clint wasn't a cruel or just looking for sex, he would always treat a woman with respect…unless they didn't want him to. He just hadn't met the right one yet, and honestly he was at peace with that.

He did admire Thor, Tony and Steve though, for being able to stay in a relationship and still actually want to be in it, he especially congratulated Steve because Clint knew Natasha could be difficult, and on the whole Steve was managing well, and seemed to genuinely love her. Of course, if Clint had even the slightest of inclines that Steve didn't love Natasha he would have an arrow up his ass, super soldier or not. So when Steve wandered into the living room looking particularly awkward Clint was interested, the soldier looked at him questioningly and Clint gestured to the seat next to him on the couch.

"So umm," Steve cleared his throat and Clint raised his eyebrows, "I was err wondering if you would erm give me some advice…" Steve trailed of and Clint couldn't help but sit up a little straighter, Captain America, the golden boy was coming to him for advice.

"Ok, what do you need help with?" Clint asked naturally, not noticing Steve's blushing face.

"Oh well, see I…me and Natasha have umm you know fondue…" Steve said while looking anywhere but Clint.

"Fondue? Cap what are you talking about?" Clint replied shifting in his seat to face Steve more, Steve however turned away slightly.

"You know…" Clint raised his eyebrows again, "sex." Much to Steve's dismay Clint burst out laughing, seeing the Captains rueful expression Clint sobered up and coughed to hide his mirth.

"Right ok, so you and Natasha have fucked-"Steve sent him a hard glare and Clint snickered, "Fine, fine. You and Natasha have made love" Steve scowled and Clint grinned playfully punching his arm, "And what? You want advice on what exactly?"

"It's not the actually sex, it's afterwards, what do I say to her?" Steve looked helpless and Clint felt a swell of pity for the other man.

"Look it's simple ok, all you have to do is tell her how beautiful, sexy and all around great she is." Clint explained patiently, Steve nodded with his eyebrows furrowed.

"Ok, I can do that…thanks Clint." Steve said already thinking back to Natasha, the two men sat in a albeit slightly awkward silence for a while before Clint casually asked,

"So why'd you call it fondue?"

**I would really appreciate a review :D **


	16. Chapter 16

**So I got a longer chapter for you guys, you can thank my insomnia for that ;) **

**Thank you to ym4yum1, Ctptardis,** **LauraK,** **Avamys, TiffOdair,** **AlicinhaMB99 for reviewing you guys make me feel really good about my writing **

**Sorry for mistakes in this one… **

Natasha woke up and knew straight from the second she opened her eyes that it was going to be one of those days. 'Those days' meant a day when she can hardly look at herself in the mirror let alone talk to somebody else, it was like all her feelings from the Red Room came back to her in one sudden wave, and she drowned, every time it happened she drowned.

She lay perfectly still in the soft feathered bed, all the comfort was lost on her, she might as well have been lying on a bed of nails. She felt Steve's heavy arm wrapped securely over her waist, he was holding her close to himself but Natasha resisted the warmth of his body and instead wriggled out of his grasp and out of the bed. She looked down at the innocent face of the sleeping soldier and felt the guilt rise up through her chest and into her mouth. Visions of all the men she had tricked into thinking they loved her sprang in front of her eyes; she had always murdered them afterwards. She felt the burning sensation coursing up her throat; she spun on her heel and ran to the bathroom as fast as she could.

She sat by the toilet, wiping the vomit from her mouth, she knew this would keep happening to her, the therapists had warned her that it was a side effect of the trauma she had received as a child. So that would mean a day of stomach cramps, vomiting, relieving painful memories and avoiding any social situations. Of course it could last longer than a day; the longest it had lasted for Natasha was a week. She looked through the door way at Steve, so peaceful and childlike; she couldn't do this to him. By leaving she was protecting him, all the other Avengers to, but she would be lying if she said this was about them, she was running to mainly protect herself; she couldn't let people see her like this. It was her nature to run when her weaknesses appeared.

So moving as swiftly as she could and trying desperately to ignore her churning stomach and thumping head, Natasha grabbed random things and stuffed them into her already and waiting travel bag. Steve had asked her why she left a bag by the door and she had always replied that it was for missions, she couldn't tell him the truth…it was her escape route. She shouldered the bag and took one look back at Steve, he mumbled something incoherent in his sleep and rolled onto her side, he always was a cuddly sleeper Natasha though fondly until she shook her head to banish the thought, immediately regretting the action as she stumbled from the spinning room.

"Agent Romanoff, would you like me to alert Mr Stark about your current condition?" Jarvis cool accent cut the silence of the Tower, one of the very rare silences. Natasha's eyes widened and the AI's words.

"No Jarvis, don't you dare tell any of them I'm leaving." Natasha snarled back, her voice shaking slightly. There was quiet for a moment as Natasha made her way to the elevator, then he spoke up again.

"Agent Barton informed Mr Stark that you may try to leave the Avengers unofficially, he has requested me to alert him immediately if you try to do so." Jarvis informed her, his calm voice annoyed Natasha's frantic mood,

"Are you threatening me?" she asked indignantly, "You know what it doesn't matter I'll be gone by the time they get up." Natasha hissed as she got in the elevator. When the doors opened on the level of the garage Natasha half expected to see the other Avengers standing there but instead she was greeted with an empty floor, only Stark's expensive cars were there. Natasha wobbled up to her favourite one; coincidently Tony hated it and had only bought it when he spotted Natasha admiring it in a shop window one day, although it was far out of her price range. She crawled in ignoring the fact that she was in no condition to drive, her whole body was shaking and she held her head for a couple of seconds. A sharp twisting pain driving itself through her body. She revved up the car and sped it out of the garage, not looking back because she knew if she did she might just turn around.

**LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE BREAK **

Steve awoke to an empty bed, he raised his head sleepily and glanced around the room, there were clothes strewn everywhere and drawers had been pulled out. Swiftly he jumped to his feet and ran into the living room, fully forgetting that he was only wearing boxers.

"Natasha?" he shouted, his voice rang around the empty living room. "Natasha?" he called again.

"Steve what the hell are you doing?" Clint grumbled as he shuffled after the super soldier, closely followed by Thor and Bruce. Just as he was about to explain the doors to the elevator opened and Tony ran out, his eyes were filled with concern, he looked at the assembled Avengers.

"Nat's done a runner." He announced, for once there was no sarcastic lining to his words. A sudden flash of rage shot through Steve's vision and he viciously ripped up a chair and threw it at the wall, the only one to flinch was Bruce but he looked slightly green anyway, as they had expected Clint looked the calmest.

"Everybody calm down, sometimes things get tough for her and she leaves, usually she comes back." Clint explained softly but son worry buried itself in his face.

"What?" Steve snapped, they all looked at him warily, he never lost his cool, he was always the calm and collected leader. But now he was a mess.

"Well, she might not come back this time. It's probably better if we go out and look for her, last time I found her after a week she was almost dead. To this day I still don't know what shit she got into too but whatever it was left her in a bad shape." Clint explained, Tony nodded thoughtfully.

"Jarvis, can you track Natasha's location." The others looked at him curiously, and his usual Stark smirk decorated his face, "I put a tracker on her car, I guessed she might do this." They all nodded an Steve ran off to get a shirt, no-body asked Tony how he knew Natasha would eventually run and he was glad they didn't because the truth was, him and Natasha were similar and if he didn't run then it was going to be her.

**LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE BREAK **

Natasha curled herself into the corner of her couch, she had found a motel, it wasn't beautiful but it wasn't disgusting. It was clean but had no heating but Natasha couldn't bring herself to care, she shivered against the biting air but didn't make any attempts to move. Her thoughts were a tangled mess of Avengers, Red Rooms and pain; she let the images swim before her eyes. She heard a heavy knocking on her door, her normal reaction would be to grab her gun and shoot the intruder, but she couldn't…she just couldn't. It was as simple as that.

She was aware of the person shouting something but the words melted together and Natasha couldn't make any sense of it. Before she could react the front door slammed open, her tired eyes watched as Steve stepped in, his large figure filled the doorway and felt more safe then an actual door. He stood still and they stared at each other for a minute, he turned and carefully shut the door, he slowly stepped towards Natasha, he determined that she was going to attack him or run away so he knelt down by her head and pushed a lock of her fiery hair behind her ear.

"What's happening sweetheart? Are you ok?" his voice was a mixture of kind and concern, it was like a soft balm after Natasha's haunting thoughts.

"I'm sorry." she whimpered out softly, he kissed her forehead and let her explain, she told him about the physical things that happen to her and the mental, he didn't take his eye off her for a moment. When she was done he stood up and began moving around. "What are you doing?" Natasha asked still shivering.

"Just getting some things." He answered still moving about, when he came back to her, he was carrying a bucket a blanket and his jacket, a glass of water and a hot water bottle. Natasha raised her eyebrows at the last item, Steve blushed and muttered, "Clint told me you'd want it." she smiled softly and allowed him to sit next to her on the couch, he draped the blanket over her and she put on his large jacket. Natasha took the water bottle and held it to her stomach, she rested against Steve and soon found her eyes shutting, he didn't say anything but his presence was enough.

Too soon though Natasha was jerking forwards a hand over her mouth, Steve moved the bucket for her and held her hair back as she vomited, she stroked soft patterns into her scalp and Natasha soon relaxed again. She tried to mumble sorry but Steve just shook his head, he continued to say soothing words until Natasha truly was unconscious.

**LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE BREAK **

Whenever Natasha had one of 'those days' she was never alone again. Steve was always next to her, holding her hair back, kissing her softly or sometimes just watching over her, but the point is he never left her and in return she never ran.

**Ok review if you want a Steve too…..**


	17. Sorry

Hello,

Please read this it will explain a few things and hopefully you won't hate me too much.

Ok, so firstly I need to apologise for the lack of updates but I do have a reason which I will explain. I've been dealing with anxiety and panic attacks for a long time and it has gotten worse and has turned into self-harm, etc. so I haven't been coping well, I know that I have just admitted that to complete strangers and how attention seeking that may seem but I thought you deserved an explanation anyway.

As a result this story and all my others are on hiatus (if you are completely devastated by this and feel like your world will end because of it, leave a review and depending on how many people really want this to carry on, I might, key word _might, _be able to leave the hiatus but updates will be sparse).

This is not a sinister plot for reviews this is an apology, but if anybody has any advice or whatever that would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for reading and understanding.

I hope you're all ok. Xx


	18. Chapter 18

**So guys this is the last chapter because I feel like for my sake I need to end this here, if you ever have any requests you'd like me to write just send me a PM and I'll be happy to try. **

**I know this isn't my best work but I've been a bit scattered lately. **

**Please guys can we get this to 100 reviews? 9 reviews? If you write one and eight other people do you will completely make me week! **

Steve hadn't imagined that it would ever be like this, then again he had never imagined he would be alive in the year 2013, still somehow he had managed to –mostly- come to terms with his, in Clint's words, 'time travelling'. This though, what he was experiencing right now was far beyond anything like that. Back in the 1940's he had wanted a girlfriend but obviously they had never been interested in him, why would they be with all his health issues and his small scrawny appearance? But now, he was lying on a soft plush couch in Avengers Tower, which he was the leader of despite Tony's arguments, his new friends dotted on their own seats as they watched Mission Impossible III, and the most beautiful, albeit deadly, dame…ahem woman lying on top of him as he wrapped his arms around her and held her.

The super soldier focused his attention on his girlfriend, she was resting on his chest, with her head facing towards the TV, her eyes were glassy and unfocused as Steve ran his large fingers through her hair and massaged her shoulders, she made a soft moaning noise that only Steve heard, he smiled proudly knowing that he was the only one that could get her to make that sound.

"Hey Steve…" Natasha asked quietly, she allowed her eyes to droop closed as he looked down at her,

"Yeah?" he answered, his deep voice vibrated his chest and Natasha smiled easily, that made Steve grin and soon they both sat there smiling unnoticed by the rest of the team. He reached over to take a sip of his beer,

"Have you ever thought about marriage?" Natasha asked casually, as soon as she finished Steve spat out his beer and Natasha sat up in confusion and worry. He shook his head trying to cough out the offensive liquid, of course he had thought about marriage, in fact he had thought about it quite a lot but he didn't want to scare Natasha, fully knowing that if she was uncomfortable she would run.

"Well, umm…yes I guess I have." He admitted raising his head so he could gauge her reaction; she nodded and curled back into him,

"Ok." There was silence for a minute apart from the explosions emitting from the TV and Thors loud snoring,

"Nat…why'd you ask?" Steve said extremely nervous to hear her answer but decided it was better than not knowing. She swung her body around until she was sitting on his lap,

"I just wondered whether you ever wanted to get married, because I used to think that I never wanted to but now I've met you…" She trailed off and lay back down, Steve couldn't speak properly he was too in shock from Natasha's confession. He had never really thought that Natasha would want to marry him; he had always assumed that she liked the relationship the way it was and not want to take it any further. On the other Natasha wasn't known for her predictability so in hindsight Steve knew he should have expected something like this to happen and knock him on his ass. However, he was decidedly relieved that Natasha had revealed that she wanted to marry him, in the back of his mind he had always been worried that she wasn't as in love with him as he was with her. Maybe it was the relief and wanting that had caused him to make the decision that would change his life one way or another.

"Natasha, will you marry me?" Well there was no going back now. Slowly Natasha sat up and pulled away slightly, Steve's heart plummeted but he decided to carry on regardless. "I love you and I really want to get married but I didn't think you did, and now I know that you do I think we should." He hastily added, "And the reason I'm asking you here and now and not some big fancy thing is because I'm happy here and I know you are too, besides I know you'd hate all that attention so Nat, will you marry me?" Natasha turned to look at him, clearly debating in her head, before she allowed herself to smile, she nodded and whispered,

"Yes Steve, I will." He jumped up and wrapped her small form in his arms, she placed her legs around his waist and tried to pull him closer, they kissed passionately completely forgetting about their audience. Well, that is until…

"Congrats guys, that's really sweet and great but there's still one big question that we need to ask Steve." Tony interrupted after the couple had broken apart; Natasha looked up at the soldier in confusion he grimaced. Clint nodded,

"You better answer right Cap." He threatened before looking at Tony as the billionaire stepped forward confidently,

"Who gets to be best man?"

**And we're done. Thank you to everyone who has ever reviewed/followed/favourite this story, and please can we make it to 100? 9 reviews? **

**If you ever have any requests for me to write something just let me know because I am looking for projects **


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